Ever the Same
by Skabooom
Summary: Every Saturday, Isaac volunteers at the children's hospital and takes as much pain as he can. Every day, when Danny visits his little sister, he listens to her talk about "the boy who makes her feel better." When he finds out it's Isaac, he doesn't know what to make of that, but he does know that anyone who make his sister feel better is someone worth knowing. [Mahealahey Slash]
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Okay, so this is my first real stab at Mahealahey. I'm posting the first three chapter's all at once because they're all up on AO3, but after that, it will be one at a time! Let me know what you guys think!**_

_**Disclaimer: Title from the song of the same title by Rob Thomas.**_

Every Saturday, Isaac volunteers at the children's hospital. He doesn't tell Scott, or Stiles, or Derek, or any of them, because this belongs to him, and him alone, but every Saturday morning between 8 AM and noon, he goes from room to room, drawing pictures, reading stories, and taking away as much of their pain as he can.

It hurts him every time – of course it does, because things like that, taking away the pain of others – well, that pain has to go somewhere, but it's worth it, even if he has to sleep for about 6 hours to feel better after every shift. It's hard, being in there with all of those kids, knowing that some of them won't get healthy, that some of them might never go home, but he has to keep his spirits up, because he knows that what he does makes them feel better. It doesn't heal them, or fix what's wrong with them, but it makes them feel better in the moment, and that's better than nothing.

First, he starts off with Jake, a 9 year old boy who's in on and out for Cystic Fibrosis. Isaac didn't know anything about CF before meeting Jake, but he's done his research, and now he knows how hard it is for this kid, and how hard it is going to be for him for the rest of his life – a life that, while lengthened greatly by medical science in the last few years, will still be shorter than most.

Jake likes Batman comics, so that's what Isaac does. He sits in a chair next to Jake, and reads him comics, slowly, subtly sucking the pain from him with one hand lightly touching the boy's arm as he does so. He knows that putting on that brave face and laughing at the funny moments in the comics can't be easy for the little boy, so Isaac puts on his brave face, too, and tries to be okay with the fact that he knows how much this kid is hurting, even though at 9 years old, he's already learned to hide it from the world.

Next is Maggie. She's 7, and Isaac thinks that that's far too young for anyone to have to be going through what she's going through. She was born with a hole in her heart, and she's on the list for a transplant, and she's pretty high up – her prognosis looks good, great, in fact, but that doesn't keep Isaac from knowing how much she hurts as he slowly seeps her pain away while wearing a princess tiara and having a tea party with her, her dolly, and the teddy bear named Gus that sits with her on her bed.

Some of the kids that are at the hospital are there for really serious things, some not so much – so every week, there are a few kids that have gone home, and a few new ones who will only be there that one week, thank god, before they go home.

Of course, every couple of weeks, there's always a bed that's empty for all of the wrong reasons, and it's those times that Isaac wishes there were some way to help take away the emotional pain of the parents. He saw his parents go through losing his brother, and he was young, but he knows it wasn't easy on them…and he knows what it turned his father into. He just hopes that nothing like that will happen to any of these parents, and he makes himself believe in an afterlife for those kids, because if he didn't, he knows he'd never sleep again.

Isaac makes his way through the day drawing pictures with Sammy, and listening to pop music with Rocky. He makes origami cranes with Selena and her siblings, because they're hoping for a miracle if they reach 1000, and he'll do anything to help them get there…including making as many as he can in his free time, which he can, and does do, on a regular basis. He brings what he made with him in a container every week.

Lastly, every week, there's Maia. Every week, Isaac hopes that when he gets to her hall, she will have gone home, and every week, he finds that he isn't that lucky. Maia is only five years old, she's about the sweetest little girl that Isaac has ever met, and she just happens to be Danny Mahealani's younger sister.

"Hey, Maia." He plasters on a smile as he enters her room, to hide the fact that he's heartbroken that she's still there.

"Isaac!" Her eyes brighten as he enters the room, and he isn't sure why, but she seems to like him best of any of the kids he visits. She says that she always feels better when he's there, and he knows why that is, but he can't tell her. How could he? "Look!" She holds up a coloring book, one with dinosaurs, that Isaac is pretty sure he hasn't seen before.

"That's awesome!" He grins, sitting down in the chair by her hospital bed. "Is that new?" he asks.

"Yup!" She grins, proud amidst the pain that she's in. She was diagnosed with Leukemia about a year ago, and while she's fighting it hard, it's not easy for someone so young. It's easier to keep her in the hospital with the chemo than it is to take her home in between treatment sessions, but he knows her family spends a lot of time there. "Danny gave it to me," she states.

"Oh, cool. Do you want to color something for him?" Isaac asks. He knows all about Danny, both from Maia, and because they go to school together, play lacrosse together, but he's pretty sure that Danny doesn't know that he visits Maia, because he's pretty sure Danny would mention something if he did.

"Yes." She nods. "Stellasaurus," she states, holding up a picture of a very cartoonish stegosaurus.

"Stegosaurus," Isaac corrects, smiling as he roots around the room for her box of crayons. Maia is super into coloring books, and Isaac always, always obliges.

"That's what I said!" Maia insists with a giggle.

"Alright, alright," Isaac concedes; after all, what kind of jackass argues with a sick five year old over the names of dinosaurs? "Do you want me to color with you, or do you want me to do my own?" Some weeks, they color one picture together, some weeks, they do they're own.

"You can help me," she says. "I want it to be special."

"Okay." Isaac waits to be handed a crayon, and he places one hand near her shoulder, just enough to subtly make contact, leeching out pain bit by bit, as they work on the dinosaur.

When they're done, the stegosaurus is bright orange with rainbow plates on its back, and its tail is purple and blue striped. It looks, well, very much like it was drawn by a child with the help of an adult, which it was. Sort of. Isaac technically isn't an adult yet, after all.

"Danny'll love it!" Maia grins up at Isaac. "Can you write 'TO DANNY love MAIA?' on it?" she asks, handing him a red crayon.

"Sure can." He smiles, writing the words in his best handwriting. He's never been much for penmanship, but this seems like a time to be careful. It doesn't have to look good, but it does have to be legible, and based on what Isaac knows about the kind of guy Danny is, this picture will probably end up on his wall, or maybe even in his locker.

Isaac's pretty sure that he's seen colored pages on the inside of Danny's locker before, but he's never had the courage to really look long enough. He doesn't want to get caught staring, and have to explain it.

When they're done, Isaac looks down at his watch. It's a couple minutes after noon, and he's overstayed his shift at the hospital.

"Okay, kid, it's about that time," Isaac says gently, rising to his feet.

"Noooo," Maia looks up at him, pleading with her big, brown eyes, and dimples just like her brothers, for him to stay. "You make me feel better!"

"I know, but I have to go, I'm sorry, Maia, but I'll be back, okay? Next week. I promise. And I'll bring you something special, okay?"

"Okay…" Maia looks disappointed, but there's nothing that Isaac can do. He can't stay here forever, he can't be here all the time, it just wouldn't make sense. Besides, he's exhausted, and in a lot of pain himself. He knows that he has to take care of his own needs, his own body, or he won't be able to keep doing this every week.

He reaches down to gather his bag, but he stops dead in his tracks at a voice behind him.

"So it's you."

Isaac turns around to find himself face to face with Danny.

"_You're_ the boy who makes her feel better."


	2. Chapter 2

Isaac doesn't know what to do, what to say, because he's never run into Danny here before, so he figured that Danny has something at this time, but maybe it got canceled this week, or maybe Danny's schedule just isn't that rigid, but either way, here he is, standing face to face with his schoolmate, not at all sure of what to say.

What does one say in this situation, after all? Does he explain that he volunteers because it makes him feel better? Does he just mutter out that he has to go and leave? Does he actually have to explain anything at all? After all, it's not wrong to volunteer at a children's hospital, and Isaac knows that. What feels wrong is that he's known that this is Danny's sister, and he never said anything.

"I'm sorry," he blurts out. "I never knew what to say, so I just…said nothing," he mumbles.

"That's-" Danny is about to start speaking when Maia cuts him off.

"Danny! Danny! Look what Isaac and I made for you!" She grins, proud as hell of the dinosaur that she holds up to him, and Danny's face changes entirely. He stops staring down Isaac, and moves to his sister's bed, climbing up there with her, taking the picture.

"Aw, Mai, this is the best yet!" He grins, setting it down on the table. "I'm gonna put it up as soon as I get home, okay?"

"Okay." Maia nods, and Isaac finds himself mesmerized by the way Danny just slips so easily into the situation. His sister is sick in a hospital bed, and it's clear that that's hurting him, but he, like Isaac, hides his own pain for her benefit. "That's Isaac," she states, gesturing at Isaac.

"I know, kiddo," Danny smiles at his sister. "We go to school together, he's on my lacrosse team."

"Really?" Maia's eyes widen. "Are you friends?"

"Um…" Danny bites his lip, because no, they're really not…but they're not _not_ friends.

"Yeah, we are." Isaac cuts in, speaking perhaps out of turn, because he doesn't see any reason to tell Maia that they're not friends. He's pretty sure it would only upset her, and Danny looks at him gratefully as he does so.

"Good." Maia smiles, content with the answer. She can't read the tension in the room, and Danny and Isaac are both glad for that.

"I have to get going," Isaac says, nodding quickly. "I'll see you next week Maia, Danny…see you Monday." He forces a smile at Danny – after all, Maia thinks they're friends, and takes a quick exit before anyone else can say anything.

"So Isaac's the boy who makes you feel better, huh?" Danny asks, tilting his head to the side, slinging an arm around his sister, pulling her close as gently as he can.

"Yup." Maia nods. "He draws pictures with me, and I just don't feel as icky when he's here."

"That's good." Danny smiles, and as he pulls out the new books he brought from the library and starts to read to his sister, a part of him is annoyed with Isaac for not saying anything, but more than anything, he wants to thank him.

Maia is the most important person in Danny's life, and when she got sick, his entire world shattered. He doesn't talk about it much, because there isn't much at all to say, and he doesn't need everyone feeling sorry for him all of the time. That won't make him feel any better, and more importantly, it won't actually help Maia in any way.

Jackson knows about Maia, Danny told her when they skyped a few weeks ago, and the only good thing it's really brought about is that now, Jackson calls more often. Danny worried about losing Jackson as a friend, but now that this is all going on, well, it seems like he really does plan on staying in Danny's life, and that means a lot to Danny. Jackson moving away put a serious dent in the number of true friends he had, because sure, Danny's popular, and a lot of people like him, he has a lot of friends, but not a lot of people who know him really well. That's what he's been missing since Jackson left.

"Okay, okay, I need a break." Danny laughs as he closes _McDuff Comes Home. _He looks over at Maia, his voice hoarse from reading to her, and she cuddles into his chest.

"I don't feel good," Maia whispers as she curls against Danny's body.

"I know you don't, kiddo." Danny sighs, cradling her close to him. She looks so small right then – smaller than she actually is, all curled up and sick. She's skinny, because the chemo makes eating disastrous, and her hair's gone for the same reasons. It's devastating, really, but Danny just hopes she'll be okay.

He's talked to his parents about options, about if the chemotherapy isn't enough. They've run the tests, and he knows he's a match, and the second the doctor tells him she needs it, he'll donate as much bone marrow as he can to help save her. He's heard it's painful, and he doesn't care. This is his little sister, and if there's anything he can do to save her, he's going to do it.

"I'm tired of feeling sick," Maia whines, and Danny wishes that he could do something – anything to help her feel better right now.

"I know." He looks at her sadly, dropping a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "What does Isaac do?" he asks. "What does he do that makes you feel better?"

"He draws with me," she says simply, because really, that's all they do. Isaac sits there, and they draw, and they talk about whatever Maia feels like talking about. She doesn't know that there's something else going on, and Danny doesn't either. For everything that's gone on in Beacon Hills, he's still in the dark about, well, all of it.

"Is that all?" Danny asks.

"Mhmm." She nods. "We talk, and we draw."

"Okay." He doesn't know what else to say to that; at least he helps her. Danny can't always be there to make her feel better, and he didn't know he'd ever want Isaac Lahey around his family, but right now, he thinks maybe it's a good thing. He sure as hell won't be telling Isaac to stay away, not if he helps Maia.

"Will you stay for dinner?" Maia asks, looking up at him with those big brown eyes that Danny couldn't say no to, even if he wanted to, though he doesn't.

"Of course, kiddo." He smiles, trying to keep this all from hurting too much.

When the nurse comes in to check on Maia, take her vitals, and dinner order, Danny sits patiently, holding her hand during all of it. He's used to this, and unfortunately, so is Maia. No one her age should have to be used to this, he thinks.

He knows what it's like, being in the hospital, poked and prodded, but his issues, his misshapen cartilage, the collapsed lung from a few months ago, that's all different, because that was all easily fixed. Maia's problems? Not so much, and that breaks his heart. Danny knows that, if he could trade places with Maia, be in her place, he would do it in a heartbeat, but that's not the way the world works, so he has to just sit here and do what he can for her…which isn't much.

The food comes, and Maia eats it like a champ. It's not great, but it's not as bad as it could be. Danny's gotten used to hospital food since Maia got sick, because he spends more time here than he does anywhere else. Hell, he's even debated giving up lacrosse so that he can be here with her more, but he knows that he needs it to help him get into an ivy league school, and that's always been his dream; he just needs to figure out if his dreams are worth giving up to spend time with Maia, and lately, he's been thinking that they definitely might be.

"I'm gonna stay tonight, okay?" Danny tucks Maia in, crawling into the bed next to her. Once she's asleep, he'll move to a cot that the nurse brings in every Friday and Saturday night, and sometimes during the week, when the idea of going home is more than he can bear.

"Good." Maia yawns and cuddles against him, as he pulls out another book, reading and reading, until her exhaustion overcomes her desire to stay up with her big brother, and she falls asleep. Danny sets the book down, but doesn't get up from the bed, not yet.

He thinks she looks her healthiest when she's sleeping, and as he lays back down, starting to drift off a little himself, he thinks about Isaac, and how he wants to talk to him, get to know him a little better.

After all, anyone that spends their free weekends volunteering at a children's hospital can't be bad at all, and anyone who helps his sister feel better? Well, that's someone he wants to get to know.


	3. Chapter 3

On Monday at school, it doesn't take Danny long to find Isaac. Isaac's tall, and he sort of stands out amongst the crowd. Danny's not sure what happened to him, the change he made last year, but he went from being lanky and awkward and shy to being, well, what he is now, though Danny's not really sure he knows what that is.

"Hey," Danny walks up to Isaac's locker, leaning against the one next to it.

"Oh...hey." Isaac turns to him, a part of him wanting to run away, because for some reason, he feels oddly like Danny should be mad at him, but he stays because, well, that's the only thing that really makes sense.

"I wanted to talk to you about…about Maia, and…" Danny shifts uncomfortably. "And…thank you."

"Thank me?" Isaac frowns. "For what?"

"Well, you know, first off for not telling everyone. I don't want it to be this big thing, because that just makes it all that much harder, you know?" Danny shifts his weight, taking deep breaths to try and keep from getting overwhelmed, because he's had surgery, he's collapsed a lung, he's been cheated on, he's been left, and none of that – hell, even all of that combined, doesn't hurt as much as knowing Maia is in pain.

"It's not my story to tell, Danny," Isaac says softly. "It's your family, it's your life, and if you want to keep it on the down low, your secret's safe with me, so if that's what you came here to say-"

"Isaac," Danny cuts him off. "Let me finish."

"Sorry." It's Isaac's turn to shift uncomfortably.

"I just wanted to thank you for being there for her. Me, and mom and dad, we try to be there as much as we can, but between work and school, we just can't be there all of the time. You…I…she talks about you. I didn't know it was you, obviously, but she said that you make her feel better, and I don't know what you do that's so comforting, or what you say that puts her at ease, but…" Danny gulps, feeling a lump rising in his throat.

He has never really been the emotional one out of his friends, but he has emotions, and lately, they've been acting a little crazy. He can't keep them in check as well as he used to, and why should he have to? He's dealing with a lot.

"Danny, it's fine, you don't have to say anything else, I get it, okay?" Isaac looks over at him.

"I guess I'm just trying to tell you that it means a lot to me that you're there for her, even if I don't totally get it. I guess I don't have to, as long as it's helping her."

"Danny," Isaac looks over at him, shaking his head. "I don't think that this is the right place to have this conversation, okay? The day's about to start, I don't know where your head is at, but I just…" Isaac sighs, looking at Danny in a way he never really has before, as someone who might sort of understand him.

Danny's in pain right now, and that's something Isaac has never really seen from him. Isaac? He's known pain for years, and it's hard for him to connect to people without it. Maybe that's fucked up – hell, he knows it is, but for so long, it was all he'd known, and maybe that's why he needs so badly to be able to take it from others, especially kids, but seeing Danny in pain, it makes him feel like maybe they do have more in common than just lacrosse.

"You're right." Danny nods. "No, you're absolutely right, I'm sorry, I guess it's just weird. Outside of my family, Jackson's the only person close to me I've told, and he's not here, so having you right there to talk to…I guess I sort of just went for it because, you know, you're there."

"Okay, well, you know I'm not going anywhere, okay?" Isaac looks at Danny, and a few months ago, he'd never have said those words. A few months ago, Isaac was all about surviving, doing what he had to in order to get by, to protect himself, but living with Scott and Melissa, it's taught him a level of compassion that he'd lost for awhile, and right now, he wants to share that compassion with Danny.

"I…what?" Danny looks up at Isaac, confused, speechless.

"I'm not going anywhere. We don't have to have this conversation right here, right now, but if you want to have it – or any other conversation, Danny…I'm here."

Danny's at a loss for words on that one, because, well, he doesn't really know Isaac. Sure, they play together on a team, but that's about as far as that connection went…at least until now.

"Look, you're a good guy, Danny," Isaac states. "God, you probably don't even remember, but like, a million years ago, when my brother died, you gave me the cupcake out of your lunch every day for like, a week. I didn't even ask, you just did it. We didn't even sit together, we weren't even friends, you just came up to me every day, handed it to me, and…" Isaac trails off. "You've always been decent, never shoved me around, or pretended like I was invisible, and now you've got crap in your life to deal with, and Ms. McCall doesn't put cupcakes in my lunch, or even make me a lunch, but…" he shrugs, and Danny just sort of gets it.

Isaac doesn't reach out to people besides Scott and Melissa, because everyone he's reached out to before the McCall family has hurt him, and most of them pretty badly. Sure, he sort of gets now why Derek did what he did, but that didn't make it any less painful at the time, and being able to reach out to Danny? Well, that's a huge step for him.

"Thanks, Isaac." Danny offers him a gentle smile, and turns away.

He's halfway down the hall before he stops and turns around. "Look, I'm going to visit Maia after practice, if you want to come…" he trails off. He doesn't want to push Isaac into anything, but Maia seems to be a little crazy about him, so what's the harm, right? It can only do good.

"Yeah, okay." Isaac nods. He doesn't smile, because it doesn't seem something worth smiling about, but there's something unspoken between them as Danny walks away, and Isaac wonders if maybe, this time, there is something more that he can do for the Mahealani's, something more than just subtly siphon away some of their daughter's pain.

Maybe he can help their son, too.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N Okay, here is chapter four! I usually only post one chapter a day, and usually nowhere near that, but I felt like it, and I might not have the time tomorrow...so here it is. I promise it's all going to start picking up soon, please bear with me!**_

The rest of the school day seems sort of weird to Isaac; after all, he's only really ever had Scott as a friend, and he's not sure what it is Danny's becoming, but the gentle smile that Danny shoots him in history class says that maybe, just maybe, he's on the verge of making a new friend, and that's definitely uncharted territory to Isaac.

After practice, Isaac waits for Danny, and they find themselves sitting in silence as Danny drives a car that Isaac couldn't even begin to afford the _steering wheel_ of towards the hospital.

"Wait, stop." Isaac speaks up suddenly as they pass the art supply store.

"What is it?" Danny frowns, pulling into the parking lot.

"I said I'd get Maia something special the next time I went to visit, and since I thought that'd be Saturday, I haven't had time yet." Isaac gets out of the car, running into the store before Danny can stop him, tell him that he doesn't have to do that, that buying presents for Maia isn't his job.

Isaac returns a few minutes later, whatever he bought concealed in a bag, and he doesn't say, so Danny doesn't ask – he figures he'll see it soon enough any ways.

When they get to the hospital, Danny can go right in, because he's family, but Isaac has to get his visitor's badge. The head nurse smiles at him, asks what he's doing there on a Monday, and he explains that he's visiting his friend's sister, and though it's a word that they've been throwing around a little lately, it still sounds weird on his tongue.

Friend.

He's not sure if it's true, not yet, but a part of him hopes that it will be. He could really use another friend.

"Knock, knock." Danny grins as he knocks on the partially open door of Maia's hospital room, and she looks up at him in complete surprise.

"Danny!" It's clear she wasn't expecting him, and Isaac can't help but notice the way her eyes light up. Danny must one hell of a brother.

"Hey kiddo." He smiles, moving into the room. "And I brought you a friend."

When he moves out of the way and Isaac steps in, if at all possible, Maia's smile widens, and Isaac feels warm in places he didn't know he could still feel warm. His familial instincts were numbed by years of severity and cruelty, but that smile from that little girl just melts right through all of it.

He can already feel that he's doing exactly what his volunteer trainer warned him not to.

He's getting too close to a patient, but he can't help it. This is Danny's little sister, and Danny's the one opening the door to him. Right now, Isaac suspects that he's doing this not only because Maia likes Isaac, but because Danny's having trouble dealing with this alone, and if Isaac knows anything about Danny, he knows that Danny won't make this about him, that he probably doesn't even know how to make something like this all about himself…and that means he's suffering alone, in silence, and while Isaac can't take away that sort of pain, he really, really wants to.

"I brought you something." Isaac smiles and unzips his backpack, pulling out a package of brightly colored assorted origami papers in a few different sizes.

"Whazzat?" Maia asks, tilting her head to the side, looking curiously at the papers.

"Origami," Danny says with a soft smile.

"Your brother's right." Isaac smiles. "Well, mostly – its origami paper, but we're gonna make origami."

He and Danny sit down, and Isaac explains that anyone who folds 1000 paper cranes gets a wish from a crane. It's just a legend, a myth, but Selena's brothers and sisters seem to believe it, and hell, a year ago, werewolves were just a myth to Isaac, and now he is one, so maybe, just maybe…and if nothing else, it's a distraction.

"Oh." Maia's face falls, she looks disappointed. "But I dunno how."

"Well you're in luck," Isaac smiles. "Because I do." He takes out a piece of paper, quickly, expertly folding it into a crane. "Here." He holds the lime green bird out to Maia. "1 down, 999 to go."

Isaac shows Maia how to fold first, and it's like she's a natural. She messes up one, maybe two, before she's off to the races. He lets her use the bigger paper, because that's easier, but he's not sure it would have mattered, because she has got this down.

Danny, on the other hand…is a different story.

"What? Ack." Danny laughs as he tosses his fifth ruined crane into the trash bin, basketball style. He's bad at this, and Isaac isn't sure, but this might be the first time he's ever seen Danny _not_ excel at something, which is oddly relieving, since Danny, at least as far as they know, is all human. He shouldn't be as good at everything as he is.

"Come on, Danny!" Maia giggles. "It's easy, see?" She shows off, folding a pink crane perfectly in just a couple of minutes, and Danny smiles at her, setting it with the others that they (well, that Maia and Isaac) have made in the last half hour.

"I guess we can't all be artistic geniuses," he states, gently swatting at her shoulder.

"I guess not." Maia sticks her tongue out at him, and Isaac just smiles.

"Here," he hands Danny another piece of paper. "Try again."

"Okay." He takes the paper, and starts to fold, per Isaac's instruction, and Isaac has to commend him – he is _not_ giving up.

"No, no, here." Isaac impulsively reaches out, putting his hands on Danny's. "You tuck it here, like this." He guides Danny's hands, showing him how to tuck it in just so…and Danny doesn't pull away, so he doesn't stop there. Isaac guides Danny's hands through the entire crane, and when they're done, it's a bit lopsided, but the blue and white polka dot crane is still a crane.

Danny bites his lip as the crane that they just created is added to the pile. It is, by far, the most ridiculous looking one yet, but Danny likes it best.

"Think you got it?" Isaac teases.

"I…don't know," Danny admits, honestly having a little bit of difficulty being bad at something for once. "Maybe help me just one more time?"

"Sure." Isaac smiles and doesn't even question it as he reaches over, guiding Danny's hands one more time.

Danny tries not to think about how warm, and oddly comforting Isaac's hands are. They're big, nice hands, and his fingers are nimble. Still, Danny makes himself pay more attention because he doesn't think that he can get away with asking for help a third time and sure enough, this crane winds up looking a lot better.

"Here." Isaac reaches out, handing the crane to Maia, and for a split second, as their hands touch, Danny swears he sees black lines appear on Isaac's hand and arm, but he blinks, and it's gone, and he chalks it up to the lack of sleep he's been dealing with lately, because, well, what else would it be?

The three of them make cranes until the food comes, and this isn't Isaac's first experience with hospital food, but it is his first experience with hospital food where he wasn't the one in the hospital bed. They eat, and things are going well right up until they're about to leave, and that's when Maia starts throwing up.

Danny draws the waste basket closer, holding his sister's tiny body as she shakes with the reaction. Isaac can see on Danny's face how much this hurts him, so he reaches out, puts his hand on Maia's shoulder, and just hopes that Danny won't see as he sucks out as much pain as he can physically take.

It seems to help, though it doesn't stop the illness, and when all is done, and Maia is asleep, Isaac and Danny walk out together in silence, because that moment, just then, reminded both of them of just how sick the little girl really is.

Danny drives Isaac back to the McCall's house, and parks in front. Isaac moves to get out, but Danny's hand on his shoulder stops him.

"Thank you," Danny says softly, and Isaac's not positive, but he is pretty sure that Danny is trying not to cry.

"You're welcome," Isaac replies. He moves once again to get out of the car, and this time, its Danny's words, and not his actions, that stop him.

"She has chemo on Thursday at 4:30," Danny says quietly. "Do you think-"

"I'll be there." Isaac nods, and moves to leave a third time. This time, Danny lets him go, but it takes a few minutes before he's anywhere near able to drive home.

At least, he thinks, as he heads back to what has become a painfully quiet house, he's not as alone anymore, and while that doesn't solve the root problem, it does, at least in this moment, make him feel better.


	5. Chapter 5

If nothing else, the chemotherapy is rough. It's rough on Maia, most of all, because she's sitting there, in that chair, putting on her brave face while poison is literally pumped into her body.

Danny has stuff – books, toys, and Isaac's brought more origami paper, but even the fun things they brought to distract them can't take away from the fact that it's all very, very real, and very, very painful. When Danny goes to the bathroom, or looks away, Isaac does what he can, taking away whatever he can get away with, but it's not enough, though he doesn't think he could ever possibly take away enough. Not without killing himself in the process.

When it's over, Mr. and Mrs. Mahealani take over. It's a Thursday night, after all, and Danny's got homework. He can't spend all of his time at the hospital, and it's week nights when his parents are most available. They love Maia just as much as Danny does, and this is just as hard on them as it is on their teenaged son.

It doesn't dawn on Danny until after he and Isaac are walking out together that he doesn't actually know how Isaac got there. Isaac doesn't have a car, hell, he doesn't even have a dirt bike like Scott, and Danny's not sure he even has a real bike.

"Do you need a ride home?" Danny asks.

"Oh, no, that's okay." Isaac shrugs. Sure, he ran here, which granted wasn't as hard for him as it would be for a human, but a ride would be easier. Still, he doesn't want to put Danny out. He can see the toll that all of this is taking on the other teenager, and he doesn't want to add to that in any way, shape, or form.

"You sure?" Danny frowns. "I mean, how are you getting home?"

"I was just gonna walk, or, you know, wait for the bus."

"That's ridiculous." Danny shakes his head. "Get in, I'll drive you home." He unlocks the car, and Isaac, not feeling that he has any grounds to object to this because, while he wants the ride home because it's easier, he's also started to guess that maybe Danny wants the company, and who is he to deny him that? It's not like he has anywhere better to be.

The ride is quiet once again, something that seems to very much be a habit for the two of them, but it's not awkward, or painful silence, it's just silence; the kind of silence that two people can share when there's a mutual understanding that there needs to be more than one person in the room, or in this case, the car, but that they don't have to talk.

When Danny parks in front of the McCall house, this time it's Isaac who speaks first.

"Are you going home to an empty house?" he asks, looking over at Danny.

"No." Danny shakes his head. "We have this dog, German Shepherd, I have to go take care of him, but I won't be alone."

"Okay." Isaac nods, and he's halfway to the door before he turns back, walking to the car and tapping on the window.

Danny rolls it down.

"You forget something?" he asks.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Isaac doesn't answer Danny's question, because he figures his own question is enough of an answer as it is.

Danny just nods, and Isaac opens the door, getting back into the car. He has everything he needs to do his homework in his backpack, and he's pretty sure that Melissa will understand this one. She likes Danny. _Everybody _likes Danny.

The first couple of hours at Danny's house go by similarly to their car rides. It's quiet, and they both bust out the homework that they know they have to do, though Isaac is pretty sure that Danny's just going through the motions at this point, and while that's normal for most high school students, Danny has always given his schoolwork his all. This is a change, but not one that Isaac doesn't understand.

"Do your teachers know?" Isaac asks finally.

Danny looks up at him, setting down the pencil he was chewing on just a second before, and nods.

"Yeah. I've had to skip out on some stuff, get extensions, so I told them, but they're doing really well about keeping it quiet. I just really don't want it to change everything, you know? I don't want Maia's sickness to rule over everything. That will turn it into this big, insurmountable thing, and I can't let it destroy me, because I have to be there for her."

Isaac studies Danny for a moment, taking in the hurt, the pain, and trying to get his head around just how hard he's working. Not only is he doing school work and still going to lacrosse, but he's putting every iota of strength he has left into making his sister feel better. He's doing everything that he can to keep her spirits up as she goes through hell, and Isaac is glad that Maia has someone to do that for her, but he's also struck with a pang of very, very misplaced jealousy at the knowledge that there's not a single person in the world that would do that for him.

"Are you okay?"

It's not until Danny asks that question that Isaac realizes his facial expression and extended silence in the middle of a conversation might be giving away part of what he's feeling.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He nods. "I was just thinking about all of this, what you're doing, what you're going through, and I don't get it, not totally, maybe even not at all, but…" he bites his lip. "But I do think that it's really incredible, how strong your being."

"That's interesting," Danny closes the book he's been making notes in, and shakes his head. "I really don't feel strong. Not at all."

"Oh." Isaac smiles, but it's a cautious smile rather than a happy one. "Well you had me fooled."

"No, I didn't." Danny shakes his head. "If you thought I was fine, you wouldn't be here right now, because you wouldn't suspect that I needed you."

"Oh." Isaac isn't sure what to say to that – he's not sure that there is anything _to_ say to that, so he just nods awkwardly.

"I'm really glad that you're here, Isaac," Danny continues, looking at the other man. "It's been a rough few weeks, and I didn't get it at first, when Maia said that there was just something about you that made her feel better, but I see it now. I can't place it, don't know what it is, but you just…help."

Isaac feels a mixture of things at those words, and the first was confusion, because, well, he knows _exactly _why Maia feels better when he's there. It is because he literally takes part of her pain away, but with Danny, he isn't doing anything superhuman at all, and he isn't sure why his awkward, slightly stunted company is making the other man feel better.

"God, this must all sound so stupid," Danny mutters, reaching up, raking his hand though his cropped hair. "Me, with my perfect life, where I've never really felt any kind of pain, just crumbling at the tiniest thing when you…you've been through hell."

Maybe he doesn't know the exact details of what Isaac has been through, but he knows about Isaac's mom, then his brother, then his father, one by one, losing everyone who was supposed to love him. He's heard rumors of abuse, but he's never dared to confirm, and even without that, hasn't Isaac been through enough?

"What I've been through has nothing to do with what you're going through. Danny, you're allowed to hurt. Maybe you're not the one lying in the hospital bed, sick, but someone that you love more than anyone else in the world is, and you're allowed to feel that. Maybe you're not the one at risk, but you're the one on the verge of losing someone, and honestly, I think that's gotta be harder."

"I guess…" Danny looks up at him. "I guess if anyone's going to understand that, it's you."

"Watching the people you love suffer hurts you just as much as it hurts them," Isaac explains. "Just…just in different ways. Just…just make sure that, whatever you do, you don't let your pain turn to anger."

Isaac doesn't want to talk about his father, he doesn't want to make this about him, because it's not about him. It's about Danny, and it's about Maia, but he's seen what can happen when pain turns to anger, and it's probably the worst thing he's ever experienced.

"I'll do my best." Danny nods, figuring there has to be something more to that statement, but Isaac doesn't volunteer it, so Danny doesn't ask. He's not sure they're close enough for that yet.

They go back to studying, the silence once again comfortable, but when Danny finishes, closes his book, and looks at Isaac, the other teen knows what Danny wants before he even has the chance to ask.

"I'm not going anywhere," Isaac says softly, and that's all that he has to say. They both know what he means.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Hey readers! I'm giving you this chapter so quickly after the last one because I have a very busy weekend and won't actually be home TO post chapters. I plan on writing in my notebook when I get the chance, but I am sadly not going to be home until Sunday at this rate, and depending on weather, maybe not even then! If there is a delay, that is why, not because I forgot!**_

_**Also, this chapter is something a little different, so I hope that you still enjoy it!**_

* * *

"Where were you last night?" Scott asks when he sees Isaac at school the next day. "I covered for you with my mom, but dude. You have to touch base."

"Sorry." Isaac shifts. He never really sat down with Melissa and talked about the rules of living in her house. She's pretty well aware of how much growing up Scott and Isaac have had to do lately, and as long as they are as safe as they can be, and going to school, well, there's only so much helicopter parenting she can do in her situation.

"It's fine, man, you know that." Scott shrugs. "Just tell me where you were, and where you're going next time."

"I was with Danny."

"Like…_with_ Danny?" Scott's eyes widen, and Isaac realizes that, yeah, Danny's gay, so the assumption might definitely be there, especially since Isaac, while definitely having admitted to liking girls, hasn't ever really laid down the law steadfast on his heterosexuality…largely because he's not yet willing to make that claim. He feels he's still too young and inexperienced to really know.

"No, no." Isaac shakes his head. "We were just studying and it got late. I just felt like it was time I made some actual friends outside of the werewolf thing," he keeps his voice low, and his head angled down towards Scott as he talks. "Danny has vacancies since Jackson's left, and besides, he's a nice guy."

"Yeah, he is." Scott nods, as though he has some sort of say in the approval process for who Isaac spends tie with. Isaac knows that Scott doesn't technically, but at the same time, if Scott told him he thought Danny was a bad guy, or the kind of person he shouldn't be hanging around with, Isaac would absolutely think twice about being friends with him.

Scott has been there for him in ways no one else ever have, and probably never will, and that means something to Isaac…not to mention the fact that Scott is his alpha.

"Sorry, I'll call or text next time so that you don't have to, you know, lie to your mom." He feels bad for not letting them know, but a part of him also feels good, because, well, they care.

"Okay." Scott smiles. "I'm glad you're making friends, Isaac. I think that's a good thing."

"Yeah." Isaac agrees. "Me too. It's been awhile since I was able to make a friend that didn't, you know, hate me first." He gestures awkwardly at Scott, but there's no hard feelings there. He knows that Scott didn't really hate him, but there was some definitely negative situation stuff going on that made it pretty rough for them to get along well.

"Well I'm gonna head to class, but just let me know what's up. We can hang later, or if you're busy." He winks at him.

"I told you!" Isaac rolls his eyes. "We're just friends."

"Uh huh." Scott nods, playfully shoving his friend. "Right, sure, whatever you say."

"Asshole," Isaac mutters, but it's clear that he's joking, just the way that it's clear that Scott's ribbing is meant to be brotherly, friendly, and not malicious, and Isaac likes that. It's been a long time since he's had people he can be like that with, and it just feels good.

"How's Maia?" Jackson shifts his laptop screen so that he can better see Danny.

It's been almost a week since they've spoken, and Jackson spent the first 10 minutes of their conversation apologizing for that, but he's been busy, and their internet went out.

"She's…she's alright." Danny sighs, sort of wishing that that topic had stayed away. It makes him sad, and stressed, but at the end of the day, it's also nice that Jackson still cares, that he's still trying to be there, not only for Danny, but for Danny's family, too. He may be far away, but he's a better friend now than he was a year ago…not that Danny's told him that.

"I booked a ticket," Jackson admits. "It's not for several months, but there's a break in school here in June, so I'm gonna come back, help out, see everybody…see you."

"Lydia's not going to like that," Danny says automatically.

"It's not about her," Jackson says, biting his lip. "Besides…maybe she won't find out."

"Still not over her?" Danny asks.

"I don't…I don't know how to get over a girl like Lydia Martin. And you know her, there's no convincing her that leaving wasn't my idea, my fault. My parents moved. I'm 17. I had to go with them, it's not a choice."

"Jackson," Danny shakes his head. "I know that, you know that, and one day, she'll understand it. We're in high school, the things that happen now don't have to be our forevers. If she's really the one, she'll still be the one in a few years when you're able to be in the same place again."

"I know." Jackson nods. "I just miss her."

"Yeah…she misses you too, this new guy…he's just a distraction."

"New guy?" Jackson feels anger rising inside of him, and for a split second, Danny swears his eyes flash blue, but just like the black lines on Isaac's arms, it's gone once he blinks, and just like those lines, he's sure he imagined it, though he did oddly sleep better with Isaac on an air mattress on the floor.

"He's nothing," Danny says quickly, realizing that yeah, Jackson probably hasn't heard about Aiden. How would he? Danny's pretty sure he's the only person who still talks to Jackson.

"Okay." Jackson calms down a little, but only because he knows that Danny has a lot on his plate right now, and that him freaking out over Lydia seeing someone isn't going to make anything fucking better. It's really not. "Anything new there? Replaced me as your best friend yet?"

"Psht, never." Danny shakes his head. "But I've been hanging out with Isaac Lahey a lot."

"Lahey?" Jackson frowns. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean isn't he sort of…an asshole?"

"Well," Danny sighs. "First he was just awkward and weird, and _then_ he was an asshole for a few months, and now he's sort of…not anymore. I don't know – and besides, you're my best friend, Jackson. Clearly "not being an asshole" isn't a necessity for my friendship."

"Harsh," Jackson lets out a low whistle. "But fair. Seriously, though. How did that happen?"

"He uh…he volunteers at the children's hospital, so he knew Maia, and she really likes him, Jackson, he spends his free time making Maia smile." Danny can't hide a smile himself, and he doesn't even try, and it's then that Jackson's eyes narrow.

"Bow chika wow wow," Jackson winks, looking at Danny through the camera, because he sees the smile. Maybe he's not sure which of Danny's many smiles it is, but ripping on his best friend, especially right now, when everything's so hard, seems like the obvious, and only course of action."

"No, god." Danny laughs awkwardly, shaking his head. "It's not like that."

"So he's…just a friend?" Jackson raises an eyebrow, because he knows Danny, he was best friends with Danny, and Danny has game with guys the way that Jackson has game with, well, everyone.

"Yeah, he's just a friend." Danny nods.

"But…" Jackson leads.

"But I don't know. There's a lot going on, and he's there, and that's what I need. He's there." Danny instantly feels like he's insulted Jackson. "God, I'm sorry, that wasn't a dig at you. I wish you were here, I really, really do." He sighs.

"I understand." Jackson nods. "I wish I was there too, buddy. Look, if he's helping Maia, tell the guy I say hi." Jackson has a feeling that he knows what's going on, that he knows what Isaac is doing, and he likes that the other werewolf would help Danny in that way, because, well, he can't do it himself. He's too far away.

"I will." Danny doesn't even try not to smile at that because, well, Jackson's doing what he can from as far away as he is, and Danny? Danny doesn't know what Jackson is. Hell, he doesn't even know what it is that Isaac's doing, just that it's working, so he's chosen not to question it.

"You also tell Maia that I said hi," Jackson states. "And if she doesn't get better soon, she and I can't have that teddy bear wedding she was so set on us having last year."

"Oh my god, I'd totally forgotten about that." Danny actually laughs, and Jackson feels proud.

Last year, Maia asked Jackson if he would marry her, and Jackson, who was a tool only to people his own age and up, told her that he'd think about it when she was older, but right now, she had to make mistakes and deal with other boys who were less perfect than him first.

It was seriously one of Danny's favorite moments of his friendship with Jackson.

"I have to go, it's getting late, but Danny?" Jackson looks at him earnestly. "If what you feel for Isaac starts to change, just…be careful, okay? He's a good guy, but he's been through hell." That's the best warning that Jackson can give him, because, well, he knows Danny's dated a werewolf before, he know about Ethan…and he knows that Danny got hurt when Ethan pulled away. The exact same thing could happen easily with Isaac. It's hard, maintaining a relationship when one person is supernatural, and the other doesn't know.

That being said, Jackson's not sure it's any easier when everyone is in the know.

"Yeah." Danny nods. "I'll be careful, like I said…I'm just not sure of much right now."

"Okay. I'm just looking out for you," Jackson winks at him. "Talk to you soon."

"Bye."

Danny hangs up and closes the laptop, sighing. He'd be lying to himself if he said he'd never looked at Isaac in a sexual way, but they were shirtless in the locker room all the time. He'd looked at every guy in that way at least once, by accident. Isaac? Yeah, he is ridiculously attractive, and right now, his personality is matching his looks, but Danny doesn't think he can even think about going down that road right now. There's just too much else going on. At least now he has Jackson's visit to look forwards too.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Hey, so this is a pretty short chapter, but I wanted to get something up after being absent for the last few days! Busy weekend! It's not much of an exciting chapter, but it touches on something that I think is pretty important...friendship!**_

Having a friend that doesn't have anything to do with the pack is very, very new to Isaac. It starts off with him doing a lot of tiptoeing around Danny. There are awkward explanations about how he and Scott went from not really knowing each other to being best of friends, and even living together. He isn't really sure how to explain his debt and loyalty to Mrs. McCall, but Danny doesn't ask, and it's sort of assumed by Isaac that Danny just understands that he's in an odd place.

Most of the time that they spend together is at the hospital with Maia, and it's fun, at least most of the time, but it's got very serious undertones to it.

When Danny drives past Isaac after school on a day when they didn't schedule to hang out, he stops, and turns back. It's a Wednesday, and practice got out about 45 minutes ago. Danny didn't think to wait around for Isaac, but now he sort of things maybe it's a good idea.

"You want a ride?" He asks, window rolled down, smiling over at the other man. "We can grab a slice on the way home."

"Oh." Isaac thinks maybe Danny's saying this just to be nice, but then, well, they've been spending a long time together. They're friends now. "Yeah, sure. Thanks."

He throws his things into the backseat, and pretty soon, they're sitting in a pizza place in a booth, and for once, they're not talking about Maia, or pain, or any of the tough stuff.

"I know he's a jackass," Danny states. "But in his defense, he hasn't exactly had it easy."

"I haven't had it easy, and I don't treat people the way that Jackson does," Isaac argues.

"I know, I know, it's just hard to explain." Danny sighs, shaking his head. "He's a good guy, he really is. He just takes some getting used to."

"I'll take your word for it." Isaac takes a bite of his pizza, swallowing before he sets it back down. "How did you do on the history exam?"

"Oh." Danny blushes. "I did fine."

"Yeah?" Isaac raises his eyebrow. "How fine?"

"Pretty fine."

"Pretty fine or really fine?" He knows that it doesn't really matter how well Danny did, but they're having fun, it's a different kind of hanging out than he's used to, so he's taking what he can get.

"Perfect score," Danny mumbles under his breath.

"Damn!" Isaac lets out a low whistle and begins a slow clap, though only for a few seconds. "Honors Scholar, Mr. Mahealani, everyone!"

"Shut up." Danny looks down at his plate, blushing.

"Oh come on, everyone knows you're smart." Isaac rolls his eyes. Maybe lately Danny had been distracted, but Isaac admires the fact that, even with all of the pressure in his family life, he was still able to bring it academically.

"I just work hard." He shrugs.

"I know."

"So…" Danny shifts awkwardly. "You hang out with Ethan…"

"I do." Isaac has been wondering how long this would take to come up, and he's honestly surprised that it's taken this long.

"How's he doing?"

"He's…" Isaac trails off, because he is in no way sure how to field this question. Ethan was really upset when he and Danny broke up, but it had it's reasons, and it made sense for both of them. "He's alright."

"Good." Danny nods, because, well, even though he was the one that broke up with Ethan, he doesn't harbor as much ill will as he could – definitely not as much as he harbored right after, and nowhere near as much as he harbors for his ex.

"Yeah." Isaac nods.

"It's just such an awkward situation, you know?"

"Actually…" Isaac trails off again, because he really _doesn't _know. He's only sort of kissed a girl a couple times, and it was Allison both times, and it just wasn't really right because he felt like he was betraying Scott the whole time. It just felt weird.

"Oh come on, you've never dealt with a tough breakup?" Danny snorts, shaking his head. "I don't buy it."

"I've never dealt with _any_ breakup," Isaac admits, because why deny the truth? It won't make him look any cooler if he's caught in a lie, and he doesn't want to be caught in a lie, not when he's finally started making real friends.

"Oh wow. You can consider yourself lucky, I mean, they suck. They really do suck. The parts that lead up to the bad parts maybe suck a little less, but I don't know, man. Sometimes it's hard to say if it's worth it."

"I've heard a lot of different things from a lot of different people, and right now, I'm just sort of focusing on friends."

That's the easy answer for Isaac to give, because the real truth is that he's not sure what, or who, he wants, and on top of that, he's a werewolf. There's just no easy way to get around that with a crush or in a relationship, and he doesn't want to fuck up right and left with it.

"I think that's good. I mean, the last time I hung out one on one with a guy like this was Jackson." Danny takes a bite of pizza. "Every other time it's been a date, or I thought it was a date and he didn't, or he thought it was a date and I didn't…this is just…nice. You know? To be away from all of that for right now."

"Wait…you mean…this isn't a date?" Isaac looks up at Danny, his eyes wide with as much fake angst as he can muster in the moment.

"Oh…shit, Isaac, I…" Danny gulps, shifting. "I didn't…I mean, I assumed that with everything, this just isn't a good time for me, we're friends, I don't-"

He's interrupted when Isaac busts out laughing, shaking his head.

"Oh my god I so had you!" He snorts a little with laughter and grins at Danny. "You should have seen the look on your face, man."

"You little shit." Danny balls up his napkin and throws it at Isaac, pretending for about 3.6 seconds to angry with him, though in reality, he really needed that kind of messing with. It's been a long time since he's had someone that would act like that around him, and he really has missed it. He's glad that Isaac didn't take them down that route, because it would have been a hard one to get past.

Danny really needs a friend right now, and as he looks across the table, taking a long sip of his water, he knows that he's got one in Isaac.


	8. Chapter 8

Isaac and Danny continue in their new friendship for several weeks, both inside and out of the hospital. Isaac goes with Danny to Maia's chemo, he visits her with Danny more than just on the weekends, and when Mr. and Mrs. Mahealani are in the hospital, staying the night with Maia, Isaac has taken to staying on the air mattress in Danny's room.

Melissa McCall knows about Maia, and she's talked to Mr. and Mrs. Mahealani, so that they're all in the know about where Isaac is spending his time. She's offered for Danny to stay with them when he wants, but he has the dog to look after, and even in an empty house, there's something comforting about his own bed, and Isaac? Lately Isaac hasn't cared much where he sleeps. Hell, the air mattress at Danny's is way better than the floor at Derek's, and he doesn't like to think about it, but it's a million times better than that fucking freezer.

All of that being said, they don't spend that much time _at_ school together. Danny still eats lunch with his lacrosse buddies, pretending that everything's cream cheese, and Isaac still eats with Scott, Stiles, Allison, Lydia, Ethan, and Aiden. A part of Isaac worries that Danny stays away from him at school because he doesn't feel welcome with Ethan right there, but he's not sure at all how to breach that topic. Of course, another part of that is fear that Danny stays away from him at school because he's _Danny_ and Isaac is, well, just Isaac.

Isaac has no experience at all with relationships, so he doesn't really understand the whole Danny/Ethan weirdness. He kissed Allison a few times, he was into her for a bit, but it was awkward, and she was Scott's ex, and his loyalty to Scott was far greater than his feelings for Allison, and aside from that, Isaac's never really had anyone. That's okay, though, because he's not really sure who he is yet, and he's not really sure who he wants to date as a result of that.

That doesn't mean, though, that he doesn't look for Danny in the cafeteria at lunch, and offering him a small, encouraging smile.

It's a Wednesday, about 5 weeks after they started hanging out, that Isaac looks around the cafeteria, and doesn't see Danny at all. He knows he's at school, or at least he was, because he saw him in History earlier, but he's definitely not sitting with his jock buddies, and he's not anywhere else, either.

At first, Isaac thinks nothing of it. Maybe he went home sick, maybe he had a doctor's appointment, or any number of things.

It's not until 5th period, after lunch, when Isaac gets a hall pass from his Spanish teacher to go to the library and find a book on Che Guevara for a project, that he finds Danny.

He's not looking for him, he's looking for this god damned book, and the librarian isn't any fucking help. Their school hasn't managed to update from the little cards to computers, so he goes to the card catalogue, but he barely understands how to use the damn thing, so he just starts wandering around the shelves.

Just as he starts to think it might just be easier to give up, to go to the public library and use the computer system to find what he wants, he turns down an aisle, and there's Danny.

Danny's sitting on the floor with a back against a shelf of books, hidden well away from the rest of the world. He's surrounded by brightly colored, crumpled bits of paper, and he's looking down, focused on folding another, and it doesn't take a genius to know what he's trying to do. Isaac and Danny and Maia have been folding those cranes for weeks now, little by little making headway into the thousand that they need, and Danny's gotten the hang of it.

It becomes clear to Isaac after just a few seconds that Danny is so focused that he has no idea he's no longer alone, and Isaac just stands there, watching. Danny tries to fold the crane, but halfway through, he lets out a frustrated noise, and crushes it in the palm of his hand, tossing it to the ground with the others.

"Danny?" Isaac can't, in good conscious, just stand there and not do anything any longer.

Danny looks up, shocked by the sudden company, because, well, he wasn't expecting it, and now he's not sure what to do. He opens his mouth, says nothing, and closes it again, because he wasn't expecting company, and if this were anyone else, he'd tell them to fuck off, but it's not. It's Isaac.

"Danny, what's going on?" Isaac slides down so that he's sitting next to Danny, his back against the same shelf.

"Maia, she's…she's…the doctor said the chemo isn't working, it's not doing what it needs to be doing to make her better, I don't…I don't understand the science of it, but if it doesn't start working in the next couple of sessions, we have to look at other options, a transplant, and I just…I…" he reaches for another piece of paper, trying to fold again, but his hands are shaking, and it's not going well.

"Danny, stop." Isaac reaches out, covering Danny's hand with his own, obscuring the disastrous, partial crane from his view. He's never seen Danny unglued like this, and as Danny looks up at him, tears welling in his eyes, he can see the fear in the other man's eyes.

This has been hard for Danny all along, of course it has, but right now, what he's processing is, to him, the very real possibility that his little sister might actually be dying, that modern medicine and all that it has to offer, might not be able to save the little girl, and Isaac can see how devastating that is for him.

"No, you said…you said with a thousand you get a wish. Isaac, we need that wish, or the potential that there even is one, because we're running out of choices, I needed to…but I couldn't, they just…it wasn't working." He gestures almost wildly at the crumpled bits of paper on the ground next to him. "They weren't right, they wouldn't have counted, I…"

By this point, Danny is full on crying, and Isaac's wondering how long he's been sitting here, trying to fold cranes out of some hope that it might be the one thing that he can do to help his sister. He's well past hysterical, and Isaac's not sure how to deal with that. He's never seen anyone this way before, and telling Danny that it's going to be okay would just be stupid, because Isaac doesn't know that, and right now, there's about even odds on whether it will ever be okay.

Isaac doesn't know the words for this situation, he's not sure that there are any, so he just reaches out, and pulls Danny close to him, his arms around the other boy. Isaac has learned a lot about how to be comforting lately, but this is a whole new level.

"Danny," he says softly, rubbing his back. "Danny, I'm so sorry."

Danny says nothing, he just lets what started off as stunted tears turn into full on crying, and Isaac holds him, feeling his body shake as he cries, feeling the tears wet his shirt. Danny isn't much of a crier, and it's hard for him to be doing this now, but he can't put on that brave face all of the time, and Isaac knows that it's better he break down here, with Isaac, than in front of his parents, or god forbid, in front of Maia.

Isaac's not sure how long they've been like that by the time the bell rings, but he doesn't care. He can always get his stuff later.

However, only a couple of minutes later, the PA system calls him to the Spanish room, and he's pretty sure it's because the teacher is not pleased that he left and never returned to class. Danny sits up, looking at Isaac.

"You should go," he says softly, reaching up, wiping a tear from his eye.

"No." Isaac shakes his head. "I'm not leaving you like this. I just can't do it, it wouldn't be right."

A part of Danny wants to argue, wants Isaac to go to class, to not fall back because of him, but at the same time, he's a mess like he never has been before, and Isaac's the only person who's really there. Danny needs him. He burrows back against Isaac, and Isaac's arms go around him again.

As he holds Danny, he knows that he'll be in trouble, at least with his Spanish teacher, if not the school in general, but he doesn't care. Danny is hurting, and this is where Isaac needs to be, with him, because Danny needs him, and Isaac's never been needed like this before, he's never been the strong one before, but he wants to now, because to him, Danny is worth being strong for.

_**A/N: I know I'm still going with the slow build, I just want to get them close in a lot of ways before I get them close romantically. Also, I'm sorry for the cliched bits, but I just really like showing Isaac as stronger than he usually appears, and have Danny being the one that sort of needs to be held. Hope you guys still like it!**_


	9. Chapter 9

That night, when Isaac stays over at Danny's, everything feels different. They study, but there's just absolutely no feeling it, and they know they're both just going through the motions so they don't want into school tomorrow and make everything worse on themselves.

Isaac did get into trouble, his Spanish teacher chastised him, and threatened to send him to the principal, but Danny was there, Danny explained to her what happened, and since everyone, _everyone_ likes Danny, she was quick to forgive, and told Isaac not to let it happen again.

Now, Isaac keeps looking up from the book that he did, finally, find on Che Guevara. He's checking up on Danny, because he's never seen the guy as unglued as he saw him in the library, and though he seems better now, the same things that set him off haven't gotten better, haven't changed, and Isaac wishes there were something that he could do, really do.

Of course, he knows of one thing that could be done, but he doesn't bring it up, because how could he? Being turned into a werewolf, it cured Erica's epilepsy, and if it had worked, it would have cured Gerard's cancer, and Isaac knows what that means. It could cure Maia's, too, but she's five years old, and he doubts he'd be able to convince Scott to bite her…and even if he did, is that what everyone would really want? It's not easy being like this, and yes, there are some advantages, but there are also downsides, and right now, Isaac's feeling one majorly. He knows that, no matter what he does, he can't really ever get close to someone the way humans can get close to each other. There's just always an added layer of danger that he's just not sure he can put another person through.

It's pretty much all silence, even as they eat dinner – just some leftovers they find in the fridge, and get ready for bed.

At this point, Isaac has been staying at Danny's so much that he actually has a box of stuff in the corner – clothes, things for showering, etc. It's not a drawer, because that would be weird. They're not dating, they're just friends, and they're in a place where one needs the other to be there. Once all of that passes, Isaac is sure he'll take his box and not stay over here anymore. He isn't sure, but he's pretty convinced that this – what he and Danny have, is because of Maia, and once she gets better, god willing, they won't be as close, but that's okay. It's a small price to pay for a little girl's health.

And besides, at the end of the day, Isaac will still have Scott. As much time as he's been spending with Danny, he knows, because Scott won't let him forget, that he'll always have his best friend, and since Stiles and Scott sort of come as a package deal, he'll always have at least two friends.

Isaac sleeps curled up in a ball, but tonight, he just sort of lies there. He's gotten pretty good about blocking out the smell of fear, because he's hated it so much on himself, on anyone that he cares about, but tonight, it's either so strong, or such a completely different kind of fear coming from Danny, that he can't block it out, and it's keeping him awake.

For awhile, he's pretty sure that Danny's asleep, but it's dark, and he doesn't dare move to look, because, well, he doesn't actually need to know. He doesn't know what he would say, even if he did.

He knows, though, that he's wrong, just a couple of minutes later. He hears a small sniffle, then another, and another, and after just a few seconds, there's no denying it. Danny's crying again, and Isaac can tell that he's trying to suppress the sounds, probably so that he won't wake Isaac.

Quietly, Isaac stands up, walks over to the bed, and without even questioning it, he crawls in with Danny. His arms circle around the other man, and just as Isaac didn't question getting into bed with a known homosexual friend of his, Danny doesn't question gravitating right into his arms.

Isaac is strong, and Danny's not sure when he got so strong, because he distinctly remembers a weak kid who used to come to school with bruises he stopped trying to hide after 8th grade, bruises he would always claim were from lacrosse, and yet Danny doesn't remember Isaac ever really getting hit that hard, at least not until recently, and recently, there haven't been any bruises. His arms feel comforting, and safe to Danny, and maybe that's because he knows that this guy holding him isn't after one thing. This guy, this orphaned kid, is holding him, because he genuinely wants to help.

As Danny begins to calm down a little – something that Isaac can really only feel, because it's dark, it's late, and they're still not talking, he wants desperately to tell Danny that it's going to be okay. He's sick of not being able to say those words, but he doesn't want to say them if they're not true, and while they might be, he just doesn't know. Hope is such an interesting thing, and it's important to have, but overdoing it, giving someone too much hope in a situation as dire as this just seems more damaging than good. Isaac convinced himself for years that if he just let his dad knock him around one more time, it would all get better soon, that he just needed to let out that anger. It only got worse and worse after that, and now the man's dead, and while Isaac does hate that, he's also sort of glad to be free of the pain.

They fall asleep like that, Danny curled up in Isaac's arms, letting himself be smaller, more vulnerable, than he's ever been in his life, because right now, he just needs it, and Isaac's offering him the comfort. He'd be a fool not to take it.

When they wake up the next morning, it's not awkward, they don't talk about it. They get ready for school in silence, but a comfortable silence, and the bags under Danny's eyes seem just a little smaller. Isaac's not sure why that is, but Danny knows that it's because he slept well in Isaac's arms. After all, he's always slept better when there's been someone else in the bed, it's just never been like this before, and he's not sure what it means, just that it got him through a really, really tough night.

After that, they fall into that pattern. Isaac starts off in the air mattress, but he stays awake, listening for sounds of distress from Danny, and though the other boy does fight to keep them back, on the nights – and they are many, these days – when he can't keep the tears back, Isaac leaves the mattress and climbs in with Danny.

It's a necessary comfort to Danny, and it quickly becomes one to Isaac, too, who's never shared a bed like this with anyone.

It's also what starts getting Isaac into trouble with his own pack.


	10. Chapter 10

Isaac is the last one in the locker room after lacrosse practice on Tuesday, and he's just about to leave when he finds himself slammed against a wall.

"Why the fuck do you smell like him?" Ethan demands, one hand on Isaac's chest, holding him down, the other around his neck, not in a truly damaging way, just in a threatening way.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Isaac states, deciding it's not worth the energy just yet to fight this.

Isaac and Ethan have a history of not getting along, and everyone in the pack knows that. Isaac hates that the twins are in now. He knows their value, it's muscle all the way, and Scott needs that, but at the same time, he really, really hates those guys, and he knows they hate him right back.

"Don't play dumb with me, I smell him all over you all the time!" Ethan's claws come out, and Isaac knows exactly why he's upset.

Things with Danny and Ethan, they didn't go well, but they also didn't explode terribly the way that they could have. After everything that happened with the Darach, and every other god damned thing that's happened in this town, Ethan just had to disappear unexplained far too much for Danny's liking.

Danny could tell he was being lied to, and Ethan couldn't ever tell him the truth, so he made things up, and eventually, Danny saw through those lies, too, and called it off. Isaac's not sure if Danny still has feelings for what could have been with Ethan, nor is he sure if Ethan still has feelings for Danny, or if this is all just territorial jealously.

After all, the twins are hot headed like no one Isaac's ever met.

"Ethan, it's not what you think, I promise," Isaac states. "Let go of me and I'll explain."

Sure, the last thing that Isaac really wants to do is sit down and have some feelings-oriented conversation explaining why Isaac smells like Ethan's ex, but he doesn't want to get his ass kicked, and he knows that, as much as he hates Ethan, he's not actually a bad guy. He saw the remorse on Ethan's face as he helped to kill Boyd, and he's seen how Ethan's tried to help them. He knows what it's like to be shaped and molded by pain and abuse, and he knows that the twins are just as much of a product of that as he is, except that, instead of being knocked around by one person, they were abused by a whole pack.

Also, Scott wouldn't let them in if they were bad guys, and since they're part of Scott's pack now, they can't be all bad. Isaac, above all else, trusts Scott.

"Fine," Ethan snarls, letting Isaac go, though he does shove him slightly.

Isaac walks over and sits down on one of the benches in the locker room, because he figures that an empty locker room is as good of a place to have this conversation as any.

"Maia's sick," Isaac starts out. After all, Scott knows now, and Isaac, as much as he wants to punch Ethan in his stupid face, knows that he can be trusted. He also knows that Ethan knows who Maia is, and it occurs to him for the first time, that Ethan might actually care about what's going on.

"Sick?" he frowns.

"Yeah, she has cancer."

"She's five," Ethan frowns.

"Doesn't change the truth," Isaac points out. "Anyways, I ran into Danny while I was volunteering at the hospital, and-"

"You volunteer at the hospital?" Ethan asks, surprised.

"Yeah." Isaac nods. "Don't you ever…I mean all of these destructive things we can do, we have one thing that we can use to help other people."

"I guess…I never thought of that," Ethan says softly. It stays there, because they both know why he never thought of it. His old pack didn't train him and Aiden to be healers, just to destroy, and the Alpha pack only intensified that. Ethan has been little more than a weapon for so long that Isaac's not sure how human he still is.

"Okay, well anyways, I've just been helping out with Maia, and…Danny's needed comfort, so I've been there for him as a friend, and staying over a lot. That's why you can smell him on me," he says softly. He's not sure how Ethan's going to take that, and of course he's nervous about it, because Ethan is definitely the kind of guy you don't want to fuck with, and they have a history of violence between them.

That being said, it's not really Ethan's fault that things didn't work out with Danny, and sure, Danny feels hurt by it, and Isaac knows that, and he can't defend Ethan's actions, not without giving away their secret, but he does know it was hard on Ethan as well as Danny. He may not like Ethan, but he can't begrudge the choices that he made.

Isaac isn't really sure how to explain the platonic nature of what he and Danny are, but he knows what kind of rift it could cause in the pack – his pack – if Ethan thins Isaac is sleeping with Danny. Things have just started to go back to normal, and Isaac knows that they don't need the melodrama of Ethan thinking Isaac is stepping out with his ex-boyfriend, even if Ethan is over Danny.

"He's been going through a lot, and I'm just trying to be there for him."

"And that involves rubbing yourself all over him?" Ethan growls.

"No, no. We've been sleeping in the same bed some nights, but it's not…I swear, Ethan." Isaac looks up at him. "Danny and I…we're just friends."

Ethan takes a moment, then nods, deciding that, at least for now, he's alright with Isaac's explanation. He's also not sure how he feels about Danny. He knows they had their chance, and that it has well and truly passed. He also knows that the new transfer student is awfully appealing, but that doesn't erase the eruption of jealousy that he felt when he smelled Danny _all over_ Isaac.

Ethan leaves, and Isaac's not sure if things are actually okay between them. Then again, he's not sure that he and Ethan have ever been okay, nor that they ever will be, and he has made his peace with that, for the most part. Now that Danny is involved, it is a little more complicated. Isaac isn't afraid to admit that Danny does mean something to him, but he's too inexperienced to be able to say for sure just what that is. All that he knows is that at night, Danny's body is warm against his, comforting, and Isaac has started to really like that.

That night, Danny is at the hospital with his family, so Isaac is at home, hanging out with Scott. He wonders if Scott is choosing to ignore Danny's scent all over him, or if he just hasn't noticed yet.

"Ethan confronted me today," Isaac states, looking over at Scott.

"About Danny?"

"Yeah." Isaac nods.

"I was wondering when that was going to happen."

"You were?" Isaac's confusion is evident, but maybe it shouldn't be. Maybe this has been a long time coming.

"Well, yeah. You've been spending all of your time with him, and he's Ethan's ex. Lately, you've been smelling like him all of the time, to the point that it even has me wondering what's going on between you two."

"Are…are you mad at me?" Isaac asks meekly.

"No, Isaac, god no." He shakes his head. "I just don't know what's going on."

"That makes two of us," Isaac mutters.

"What?" Scott frowns. "Isaac, is something going on between you and Danny?"

Scott is mildly surprised at the idea of it, but he supposes, less surprised than he would be if he couldn't smell the goalie all over his best friend.

"No, no…I…I mean, I don't know, but no."

"Isaac," Scott looks at him, brow furrowed. "That makes no sense."

"I…I know." Isaac sighs, looking up at Scott, shrugging his shoulders. "It's me, Scott. You know how my life has been, I've never really had dating and stuff at the top of my priorities list, and with Danny, it's still not. He's going through a lot, and I'm trying to be a friend to him, you know?"

"But you're attracted to him." Scott doesn't ask it like a question, it's just a statement, a fact.

"I don't know, maybe a little. Yeah, I can appreciate that he's good looking, but so can you, I've heard you say it, and…he's nice, and he's smart, really smart, and great at lacrosse, and he's amazing at cuddling, but all of that, it doesn't mean that I'm into him that way, and even if it does, this just isn't the right time for him."

"Okay." Scott nods, deciding not to push the issue further. To him, it's pretty evident what's going on here, but Isaac is still new to this. He goes back to the video game that they were playing, deciding that it's probably for the best to let Isaac figure this out on his own.

**_A/N: Alright, I am trying really hard to play Ethan out in a positive way, but with him and Danny still broken up. I don't want to offend Dethan shippers, and this is NOT the only time I plan on addressing their past relationship, including why it ended! I promise, and yeah...I really don't want to villainize Ethan. At all._**


	11. Chapter 11

After the initial run-in with Ethan in the locker room, Isaac doesn't really speak to the other wolf, and vice versa.

He does, however, suffer a painful sour look from Ethan's brother, Aiden, in the hallway the next day, and he's not really sure what to do with that. The last thing that he wants is to cause a rift in the pack, especially since it would be over nothing. He isn't screwing Danny, nor does he plan to, and that's that. He does, though, see how that might be hard for Ethan to understand.

Especially since Isaac does sort of have a history of getting with the exes of his pack members.

If you can count kissing Allison twice as "getting with"…and if you can count once as a history.

Isaac is about to walk home from school again (Scott is hanging out with Stiles, and he doesn't want to encroach on all of their bro-time, since they see each other so much less already than they used to). He only gets about 12 steps down the block, however, before Lydia's car pulls up beside him. She rolls down the window and grins.

"Get in, loser. We're going shopping."

"What?" Isaac frowns like he has no idea what she's talking about. Sure, he eats lunch with Lydia and them, but he's pretty sure that he and Lydia aren't friends, and they definitely don't hang out.

He also hasn't seen the movie she's referencing.

"Get in the car." Danny leans forwards from the passenger seat, dimples creasing as he smiles. "We're going to get some stuff for Maia. I thought a woman's touch might help."

"Let's face it," Lydia states as Isaac gets in the car. "You boys just need to call in the big guns every now and then. And besides, clearly we need a copy of _Mean Girls_ for Isaac." She barely waits until Isaac's in the car, let alone buckled, before she's peeling away towards the mall.

It's never occurred to Isaac that Danny and Lydia might be friends. She was dating Jackson for awhile, and Danny is Jackson's best friend, so it makes sense that they would have hung out, but he's never talked about Lydia to Isaac, so this wasn't really expected. Still, he gets the importance of getting stuff for Maia, and he is really starting to get used to spending time with Danny.

"Okay, so what sort of things did you want to get for her?" Lydia asks, turning down the music she and Danny were blasting before they picked Isaac up.

"You know, just some clothes, not too much, but she's lost a lot of weight because of the chemo, and I know she's five and doesn't really have that insecurity thing, but she's been in hospital clothes for long enough that I want her to have something pretty."

Isaac is sitting in the backseat, so he can't see Danny and Lydia's faces too well, but he's smiling, because Danny's being caring and adorable, and Lydia? Well, she's eating it up. Especially because it means she gets to go shopping and help someone worth helping at the same time.

"So like a princess dress?"

"Exactly."

"But not tacky." Lydia smiles, and it's clear that she's already starting to design it in her mind. "So something classy and fancy, nothing with gross fake sequins on it. If you're bringing me into this, we're doing it right."

"I trust your judgment," Danny says. "This is your area. I've never bought a dress for it."

"Yeah." Lydia shakes her head. "You don't really have the chest to fill one out. Sorry, stud." She parks the car and pats Danny lightly on the shoulder as she gets out.

Isaac gets out and shoves his hands deep into his pockets. He's never spent much time at the mall at all, and he's never spent any time with Lydia outside of pack stuff…aside from the time Freshman year when he asked her out, and she shot him down hard.

He's not even sure she remembers that.

Lydia doesn't say anything else, she just starts walking. The boys tag after her into the mall, following like a pair of puppies as she goes right into a store and starts pulling things off of racks, looking at them, and making noises that Danny and Isaac don't really understand the meaning of.

"This one," she says finally, holding up a light blue dress. It's feminine, and pretty, but she's right. It's not tacky, there are no sequins, nothing like that.

"That's perfect." Danny grins.

"Blue's her favorite color," Isaac interjects, because he hasn't said anything in awhile. They both look at him with different expression on their face. Lydia looks surprised that Isaac even knows that, and Danny? He just looks touched.

"Then blue it is." Lydia nods, and they follow her to the counter. Danny reaches for his wallet, but Lydia bats his hand away. "I'll get this for her. I picked it out, I want to give it to her. You can get her something else."

"Lydia-"

"Danny?" She looks at him, and Isaac knows, even before Danny, that there's no way he's winning this one. After all, it's Lydia.

Eventually, he concedes, she buys the dress, and the three of them make their way to the toy store. Isaac separates, making a beeline for the art section to pick up some more origami paper and a new coloring book for Maia – this time Disney animals.

By the time he finds Danny and Lydia again, they're laughing in the stuffed animal aisle at a purple alien. Lydia thinks it's hideous, Danny thinks it's perfect.

"Okay, you're the tie breaker, what do you think?" Danny holds up the alien, and Isaac isn't sure what to think.

It's not what you'd get a typical girl, but Maia isn't a typical girl. She likes pretty dresses and tea parties, but she also likes dinosaurs and Transformers.

"I think she'll love it," he says with a smile.

"HA!" Danny grins. "BOOM! Two against one! We're getting the alien!"

Lydia rolls her eyes, and Isaac thinks his agreement with Danny is worth it just for the reaction. Danny has been so stressed and upset lately, and to see him having fun, even if it is shopping at a mall, buying things with Lydia that Isaac can't even begin to afford, fun is fun.

They buy the alien, and Isaac gets the cheap art supplies, and they're on their way again, going through the mall. They pass a display, and Lydia stops.

"Isaac," she states. "Those jeans." She gestures to a pair on a male mannequin. "Go try them on."

"What?" Isaac frowns. He can't afford anything from that store and he knows it. "No way, I'm not here to shop for me."

"You have long legs, those are exactly the kinds of jeans you should be wearing," Lydia states, looking him right in the eye. "Go try them on. You don't have to buy them, just try them on."

"But I don't-"

"I'm the one driving you home," she states, smirk in place on her face. "Humor me."

Isaac looks to Danny for a second opinion, and since he sided with him on the alien toy, Isaac's expecting some solidarity.

"You best do what she says," Danny states. "Or we'll be here all night arguing with her."

"Traitor," Isaac hisses, but he trudges behind Lydia into the store.

It takes her all of 2.5 seconds to find the jeans from the display, and after eyeballing Isaac quickly, she hands him a pair.

"This is your size. Go." She shoves him into a fitting room and takes a seat on a bench right outside with Danny.

They're just jeans, so they don't take Isaac long to get into.

"They fit!" He calls, and he's about to take them off when Lydia hollers at him.

"Show us! Come out!" She's grinning, and Isaac sighs.

"Do I have to?" He groans.

"Yes, idiot," she says, though it's more lovingly than he's ever heard her talk to him, and he likes that. It's friendly in an odd sort of way. "I wouldn't have made you try them on if I didn't want to see! Now get your butt out here."

Isaac opens the door, because why not, they're just jeans, right?

"Oh holy shit." Lydia smiles and nods. "Turn around."

"Uh…" Isaac does it because, well, it's pretty clear to him by now that Lydia is in control of the situation.

"Oh yeah. Do I know what I'm talking about, or what. You look hot, Isaac. So hot."

"Uh…thanks." Isaac turns back to face them, shifting awkwardly, and it's clear that he doesn't really believe Lydia.

"No, seriously, Isaac." She looks at him with eyes that say she's all business. "You look hot. Danny, tell him he looks hot."

"You look hot man," Danny states.

Isaac tries to hide the blush creeping up his face from both compliments, though he's not sure if Danny's is genuine, or if he, like Isaac, is sort of giving into Lydia right now, because it's clear that she's set in what she's set in what she wants, and she's pretty used to getting her way.

"You're buying those," she decides.

"What? No I'm not." Isaac shakes his head.

"Yes, you are." She looks at him, one eyebrow raised. "Isaac, they make your long legs look sexy, not lanky and awkward, and they make your ass look out of this world. Trust me, if you ever want to get laid, you're buying those."

Isaac's not really sure what to do in this situation, because for him, it's all about the money. He doesn't have money the way that Danny and Lydia do. He gets a little spending money from Melissa McCall every month, but he's already gone through most of that. It's nearing the end of the month, and the jeans? They're expensive. He snuck a peek at the price when he changed into them. Besides, most of his money has gone towards getting thins for Maia. He has about enough left for a burger, and that's it.

"You do look really good in them," Danny agrees, this time independent of Lydia, and that doesn't really help the situation.

"Okay, I'm bored now," Lydia sighs. "If you're not buying them, I will. Take them off."

"What?" Isaac frowns.

"I'm buying you jeans, Isaac. Now take them off so I can pay for them."

"I…" Isaac doesn't really do anything but accept charity from different people these days, but Lydia? That's a first. "You don't have to do that."

"Are you going to buy them?" she asks.

"Well, no, but-"

"Then trust me. I do. For the sake of the girls at school – or the guys, really. There is a serious lack of eye candy. The entire school needs you to have those jeans. It's not just for you. It's for everyone."

Danny just laughs, and Isaac is speechless. Lydia does really live in her own world sometimes, and she's insanely smart, but this is a fun side of her that Isaac's never seen before, and he likes it.

"Alright…thank you. Really. I'll pay you back…eventually."

He disappears into the changing room, and that's when it dons on Danny and Lydia simultaneously. It wasn't about the jeans at all, it was about the money. They share a slightly sheepish glance, but it's long gone by the time that Isaac comes out, back in his normal clothes.

"Alright, hand them over."

Isaac hands Lydia the jeans, and he and Danny hang back while she pays.

"Thanks," Danny says quietly.

"For what?" Isaac asks.

"For coming with us, for spending your money on stuff for Maia, it just…it means a lot to me. You're a great friend, Isaac, and if there's ever anything I can do for you-"

"I'll let you know." Isaac cuts him off with a smile. After all, he's not doing what he's doing to get anything. He's doing it because Maia is a sweet girl, and Danny is his friend. He's doing it because he wants to, and being able to do something good, to help? It's a nice feeling for a change.

**_A/N: Because every story needs a shopping montage? I promise, it's going somewhere. Sort of. The next chapter is going to flow pretty much right from this one so...yeah...and I wanted Lydia. Sorry. This chapter is weird._**


	12. Chapter 12

If going shopping felt weird to Isaac, it feels even more strange to him that being at the hospital with Maia feels normal.

He doesn't like that. He's gotten to a point where he and Danny spend so much time there with her that it's become the norm, and he doesn't think that it should ever be the norm for a little girl to be stuck in a hospital, but life is truly not fair, and this is proof of that.

"Hey sweet girl." Lydia is the first one to the bed side, because it's been longer since she's seen Maia. And besides, Danny wants her to have the dress, and Lydia so badly wants to give it to her.

"Lyd'ya!" Maia grins, because it's been awhile since a woman who wasn't her family or a nurse came to visit her, and Lydia wishes she'd been able to get there sooner, but she's been really busy lately.

"Hey there. Look what I brought for you." She holds out the bag, the dress wrapped in tissue paper.

"Presents!"

"That's right." Lydia smiles. "From all of us." She gestures back to Isaac and Danny, who are still clutching their packages tightly. No, it's not Maia's birthday, but she's been here long enough that Danny thinks it's okay to give gifts early. She's dealing with a lot.

Maia opens the dress and pulls it out, gasping.

"Pretty!" She sets the dress down, and throws her arms around Lydia with pretty much all of the minimal energy that she's got left.

"I'm glad you like it." Lydia smiles. "Now, Danny tells me you've mastered the art of crane folding. Care to show me?"

"Um…" Maia wrinkles her nose. "I can do it, but I dunno how to teach you. As Isaac. He taught Danny."

"Oh did he now?" Lydia looks behind her, one eyebrow raised.

"Yup, sure did." Danny approaches, and Isaac follows, hanging just slightly behind. They give Maia their gifts, and since Isaac involves origami paper, they spend some time showing Lydia how. Of course, being Lydia Martin, she gets it right away…and then still pretends to need tips from Maia.

It's adorable, and Danny looks at Isaac, at Lydia, and wonders two things: 1. How he got such amazing friends, and 2. How long it's going to take for Jackson to win Lydia back, because she really is the kind of girl he wants his best friend to be with, even if he has to fight for her.

"Hey, I need some coffee," Lydia states, almost suddenly, as Maia winces in pain. "Danny, come with me. I don't know where the coffee is kept around here."

That's a lie, and Isaac knows it, but Danny doesn't…just like Danny doesn't know that leaving Maia alone with Isaac is the best thing that he can do for her right now, because, well, Lydia knows exactly what Isaac can do.

"Yeah, okay." He looks concerned for his sister, but they won't be gone long, and Isaac will be there with her.

As soon as the two disappear, Isaac reaches out and takes Maia's hand.

"Close your eyes, okay? I'm gonna tell you a story that's going to make you feel better, you just have to imagine the pictures, alright?"

"Okay."

Maia does as she's told, and that very second, Isaac starts to seep pain from her small body.

He talks to her about a beach, and about unicorns on the beach, and he throws in some dinosaurs for the hell of it – after all, this is a story for Maia, it should be tailored to her interests. He holds on tight, taking as much pain as he can, not stopping until he hears the door opening, and by then it's already too late. He's taken too much.

"Who, Isaac…" Danny looks at him, frowning. "Are you okay?"

"What?" Isaac looks up, not realizing that he's gone pale. He, himself, is now in a great deal of pain, but he'd rather have it be him than Maia.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," he states.

"I'm fine. I just need some water." Isaac gets up, trying to hide a stumble as he heads for the door.

Lydia follows behind him, waiting until they're a considerable earshot from the door before speaking.

"Isaac, what the hell did you do?" she asks, her voice a low whisper. After all, they don't need to add to everything that's going on by having someone overhear what is about to be a very weird conversation.

"I took too much," Isaac states, wincing himself. "I couldn't help it, she's so small, and she's hurting so much, I just…"

"I get why you did it, but Isaac, you have to be careful!" Lydia reaches out, supporting him as he stumbles yet again. They both know that, in reality, he'll heal just fine, but right now, Lydia's worried about him.

"I know." Isaac nods, trying to hide the fact that he really is in a lot of pain right now.

"You really don't look well, Isaac," Lydia states, frowning as Isaac leans heavily against the wall.

"Hurts," Isaac admits, his voice strained and quiet.

"Okay, I'm taking you home," Lydia decides.

"No, what about Danny? You're his ride, and-"

"stop being such a god damned martyr, Isaac." Lydia shakes her head. "I'll take you back to Scott's, then come back for Danny."

"I…okay." Isaac nods and waits while Lydia goes to tell Danny that he's not feeling well, so she's taking him home.

When he gets home, Melissa is there, off from the hospital for the day. He doesn't have the heart to tell her why he's _actually_ sick, because he doesn't want a lecture, so he just says he's not sure. He was out with friends and started feeling ill, so he came home.

It takes about 30 seconds for her to jump into mom mode, tucking him into bed. She makes him soup and tea, and when she comes up to give it to him, he's practically in tears.

"Honey, what's wrong?" she asks gently, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"My mom," he says softly. "She used to…when I was sick."

"Oh, Isaac…" she reaches out, gently rubbing his back. He's not crying much, just tiny sniffles, but to Melissa, it's enough to break a mother's heart.

"I miss her," he admits, his voice low and quiet.

Isaac doesn't really talk about his mother. She's been gone a long time, and he got so used to life without her that he doesn't really like to rehash the way it was, back before things were awful, back when his father used to call him "slugger" instead of slugging him. Back when his brother used to come home from school and ruffle his hair before running off to hang out with his friends. Back when his mother would lift him in her arms, call him her little boy, and read him books.

It's been a long time since that life was taken from him, and he doesn't like to think about it because it makes him sad, but right now, it's hard not to think about it.

"Of course you do, sweetie," she says softly. "I know that I can't ever replace her, but I'm here for you. You know that, right? You're family now, Isaac."

Isaac doesn't really have the words to respond to that, so he just nods and looks up at her as though she's just said the most meaningful thing he's ever heard…and in all honesty, that's not far off. He feels bad lying to her about why he's sick, but he doesn't want her to worry, doesn't want her to think that he's being self-destructive, and worst of all, he doesn't want her to tell him to stop taking Maia's pain, because he doesn't want to disobey her, but that's simply not going to happen.

He falls asleep with Melissa rubbing his back, exhausted from the pain he took, but feeling more accepted and loved than he has since he was a little boy.

**_A/N Alright, another chapter down! I hope this one was alright...definitely not as lighthearted as the last one, that's for sure._**


	13. Chapter 13

The next day, Melissa keeps Isaac home from school. It's not that he has a fever, or a cough, and as a nurse, she's pretty sure that nothing is actually wrong with him, but he was so exhausted when he got home, and she knows that he hasn't had it easy. He's been spending a lot of time dealing with Danny's angst, and while she's proud of him for being a good friend, she feels that the kid just needs a break. He hasn't had one in years, and she wants to give him one.

Of course, she has to work, so he ends up spending the day lounging around in his pajamas. He watches TV, reads the first part of several books, and even studies a little. Maybe he doesn't have to be at school, but he has a new found vigor for academia. After all, he has a family again now. He doesn't want to be a disappointment all over again. He knows that Melissa would never to do him what his father did upon hearing the news of bad grades, but that doesn't mean he doesn't irrationally fear it.

At lunch, Scott checks in on him, because it's not until school where Lydia tells him what happened, and he knows that Isaac's not really sick, he's just recovering from his own decision.

"Hey," Isaac slides into the living room where Isaac is currently working on his Spanish report. "Wow, you have a sick day, and you're doing school work?"

"Didn't want to get behind," Isaac mutters, closing the book. "What are you doing home?"

"Lydia told me what you did."

"Oh." Isaac looks somewhere between guilty, and annoyed at Lydia for telling his secret.

"Look, I understand where you're coming from, but Isaac, you have to be careful," he says softly. "If you take too much, well, you know what happens, and if you do it too many times…"

"I know." Isaac nods. "But Scott, you didn't see her, and you didn't see the look on Danny's face when she was hurting it was just…it was heartbreaking, Scott."

"I'll bet." Isaac sits down on the couch, looking over at Isaac. "And like I said, I understand where you're coming from, I just don't want you to think that the whole world is yours to save. I don't want anything to happen to you, Isaac," Scott says genuinely. "You're my brother, you're my pack."

Isaac appreciates that Scott doesn't say Beta. He doesn't sit there, reminding Isaac that he's low on the food chain, and that Scott's on top. That sort of thing just isn't there between them, and Isaac's not sure he could be more grateful.

"Thank you," he says softly.

"You're welcome." Scott smiles. "I gotta get back to school in time for class to start up, just wanted to check in, make sure you're doing okay."

"I am. I just needed some rest. Your mom's a good nurse."

"Yeah." Scott smiles as he puts his bike helmet back on. "She really is."

He leaves, and Isaac goes back to his work, a smile in place on his face, because that's the first time Scott's called him 'brother.' He's heard Scott refer to Stiles that way all of the time, but this is the first time it's been applied to him, and he's really, really happy with that statement.

The doorbell rings at about 4:30, and Isaac gets up to answer it, surprised when he sees Danny standing there, holding a paper bag.

"Hi?"

"Is that a question?" Danny asks, raising an eyebrow.

"No, hi, sorry, I just wasn't expecting you." Isaac shakes his head, feeling a little stupid…which only intensifies when Danny looks at him expectantly.

"Are you…gonna let me in?" he asks.

"Oh god, right, yeah, sorry." He opens the door and steps out of the way to make room for the other boy.

"I heard you were sick," Danny says. "And since you weren't feeling well yesterday at the hospital, I figured it definitely wasn't hooky, so I brought you soup." He holds out the paper bag, and Isaac takes it, looking inside. Sure enough, there's a luke-warm container of what looks like chicken soup.

"Danny, you didn't have to do that…"

"After all you've done for me? Are you kidding?" Danny shakes his head, laughing slightly. "Bringing you soup was pretty much literally the least I could do."

"Well thank you." Isaac takes the bag and heads towards the kitchen, Danny following him. He puts it in the fridge to save it for dinner because he's not sure when Melissa is coming home, and he only had lunch a couple of hours ago.

"I was going to get you your homework, but Scott said he'd get it, and since you two live together, that makes more sense…"

"Yeah, he texted me, said he'd bring it when he got home, which shouldn't be too much time." Isaac shrugs and looks around. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure, water's fine." Danny sits down at the kitchen table, and Isaac gets them both water.

It's weird, because this is the first time he's had a friend over. He knows that this is where he lives now, and Melissa had assured him many a time that he should make himself at home, but because it's _not_ his home, his family, and it's always felt sort of temporary, he's never really felt comfortable doing that.

He's also never had friends to bring around before.

He sits down across from Danny and takes a sip of the water.

"How was school?" he asks.

"You know…boring." Danny shrugs his shoulders. "Lydia was disappointed that you weren't there to show off your new jeans…"

"God, she is one hell of a lady," Isaac lets out a low whistle, and they both laugh.

"She and Jackson were made for each other," Danny states. "She's the only one who can pointedly tell him when he's doing stupid shit, and he'll actually stop doing it. He needs to come home so that she can forgive him, so they can just be together already."

"Ah." Isaac shifts, because he doesn't really have much to add here. Jackson and Lydia aren't really his people, they're Danny's, and while he's been getting to know Lydia, he never really got to know her with Jackson…or Jackson on his own. All he really remembers about Jackson is trying to kill him, and trying even harder not to be killed _by_ him. He also remembers that Jackson killed his father, which is something he knows he will never be able to talk about with Danny.

There's a little bit of silence between the two of them, because Isaac's not sure what to say, but he doesn't want to waste Danny's time, and Danny? Well, he has always been more comfortable in silence than he lets on.

"Did Maia like the alien?" Isaac asks at last, breaking the quiet.

"That she did." Danny grins. "I knew she would."

"I went with your call because I figured you'd know her best," Isaac admits. "I mean, Lydia has great taste and all, but after everything, you're her brother. You're the one that ought to know what kind of toys she'd like."

"True, true." Danny nods. "She's gotten really attached to you, you know," he says.

"Really?" Isaac looks up, eyes wide with surprise.

"Oh come on, don't act so shocked." Danny rolls his eyes. "You go out of your way to be good to her. You don't care if it's not manly, or if it's silly or whatever. You make her feel better, and she loves you for it. Gotta say, everyone in my family sort of does."

"Oh." Isaac blushes, looking down. They don't know the real secret at play here, and they don't know that Isaac's feeling sick because of what he did, but he knows it was worth it. He wants Maia to feel better, he just wishes that he could actually make her better. He knows, though, that that's not possible, he's just having a tough time accepting that.

"Yeah." Danny smiles. "Look, I…I should go." It's pretty clear that they're entering awkward 'I don't know what to talk about' territory, and he's pretty sure he can hear Scott's bike outside. "I just wanted to bring you the soup and make sure you were feeling alright."

"I'm actually feeling a lot better, Ms. McCall just wanted to keep me home to make sure. I'll be at school tomorrow."

"Yeah?" Danny stands, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah." Isaac nods.

"I'll see you there."

Isaac walks Danny to the door, and there's a brief hug before Danny walks away, and Scott walks towards the house.

"Not every day you get a visit from lacrosse stud," Scott chides, poking Isaac in the ribs. "Let alone hand delivered soup!"

"Shut up, I live with one."

"Touché." They head inside, and Isaac turns away from Scott as they do to make sure that his best friend, his brother, can't see that he's blushing.

**_A/N: Okay, definitely more of a subdued chapter, but it should be heating up pretty soon! I hope...that's the plan! Thank you to everyone who is sticking with this, by the way! I didn't think I'd have ANYONE reading this story, let alone as many as I have, so thank you all so much!_**


	14. Chapter 14

"Can I ask you something?" Danny asks.

It's a few days since Isaac took a day off, and right now, he and Danny are sitting at Danny's kitchen table, taking a study break, and eating scrambled eggs for dinner.

"Um, yeah, sure." Isaac nods.

"Okay, so just a few months ago, you got into trouble for beating Ethan up. Twice. And now you guys are, what, friends?"

"Uh…" Okay, Isaac is really not sure how to combat that, and it's definitely one of those times when he wishes Danny were less intelligent…or at least that he were less observant. "It's more like we tolerate each other. Aiden is sort of with Lydia, and the twins are friends with Scott and Allison, so…"

"Why did you go for him initially?" Danny asks, and that's another thing that Isaac was just sort of hoping magically wouldn't come up.

"I…I was sort of in a bad place then, and I…" Isaac sighs, raking his hand through his curls. "I was angry a lot, and he was just good at pushing my buttons in the exact right way."

This is a tricky situation because he doesn't want to speak ill of Ethan, and he can't tell the truth, so he does his best. He dislikes that that means talking, even slightly, about personal stuff; Isaac likes keeping things bottled up, and he's a master of it, but he likes even less than it means having to lie to Danny. He's not sure when that got to be such a big deal to him, but it is.

Danny looks at Isaac as though there's a question on the tip of his tongue, but he's not saying anything, and Isaac isn't sure what to do. He isn't the sort to just start talking, to volunteer information, but he's pretty sure that right now, Danny is holding back on asking because he wants to have tact, because that's the kind of guy Danny is.

Isaac knows that there are rumors about him, he knows that there are whispers in the halls. He's heard so many versions of the truth about his life and his family, some that are shockingly close to accurate, for how little information was released to the public, and some that are so far-fetched that even Isaac, being a fucking werewolf, doesn't see how people could believe him.

"He's not a bad guy, Ethan," Isaac decides to go with. "He just…I don't know, he was also in a bad place, and pushing my buttons came easily to him, and my reactions were too strong, and I know that now – hell, I knew it then, but it was just hard to keep back."

"I know he's not a bad guy." Danny nods. "He's not a good liar, but he always seemed well meaning, even when he was lying to me. It's strange."

"Yeah, I guess I haven't spent that much time thinking about him." Isaac shrugs, but that's not entirely true. Lately, he's been thinking about Ethan a lot, why Ethan and Danny broke up. It was because Ethan couldn't tell him the truth, and that just tore them apart. He's worried that the same thing is going to happen with him, with his friendship with Danny, and that's upsetting to him, because he really, really doesn't want to lose this.

"You alright?" Danny asks, biting his lip as he looks at him.

"What? Yeah, I was just thinking." He shrugs. "We should get back to studying."

"Okay." Danny starts to clear his dishes, but hesitates, and looks back over at Isaac. "Look, Isaac, if there's ever anything that you want to talk about, anything that you want to get off your chest, or anything that you just want to talk about, I'm here for you. I'm a good listener, and I'm good at keeping people's secrets, if that's what they need. Whether it's about that bad place you were in, or a low school grade, anything at all. I know you've got Scott, but sometimes a second pair of ears helps."

For a moment, Isaac is completely dumbfounded. He's not used to people making that kind of offer to him, hell, he's not used to people being good to him at all, but his life is changing now. He has Scott, he has Melissa, he has Danny, and everything is starting to shape up. Sure, danger still feels like it's lurking around every corner, but at least he's not alone anymore.

"Thanks, Danny."

A slow smile curls on Isaac's lips as he gets up to take his own plate to the sink. The smile stays in place as he rinses the dish, and puts it in the dishwasher. Danny follows suit, and they stand there, cleaning up the kitchen in perfect silence, and there's something just…pleasant about it.

They go back up to Danny's room and get back to work as though this is normal, and what's so great about it is that it's become normal – this is how they are now, and Isaac likes it. It's calming, it's regular, and it's comfortable. For Danny, he needs this. He needs something to take his mind off of Maia, and he knows that if he were here, studying alone, he'd be driving himself crazy trying not to think about her, but with Isaac right there, it's easier. If it starts to come up, he knows that there's another person right there that he can turn to.

About 45 minutes into studying, Isaac closes his book and looks up over at Danny.

"That violent streak, I don't…I don't have that anymore, I mean, it's not…it's not like that. Not anymore." Isaac takes a deep breath, because he feels like he owes Danny more of an explanation than he's given him.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Isaac," Danny says gently, setting his book down, giving the other teen his full attention.

"I know that I don't have to, and maybe that's sort of why I want to?" Isaac shrugs. "I don't even know if that makes sense, but I…you're my friend, and I want you to feel safe around me. I'm not explosive like that, not anymore. That time in my life…I'd just been let off the hook for my father's murder, I mean…that wasn't easy, and with everything else-"

"Isaac." Danny reaches out, putting a hand on the other boy's shoulder. "Isaac, really. I'm not afraid that you're going to lash out at me, I'm not afraid you're going to hit me, okay? I feel safe around you, okay?" Danny squeezes Isaac's shoulder gently, and Isaac doesn't really know how to react to that. How the fuck is it that Danny seems to know exactly what to say all of the god damned time?

"I…you do?" Isaac bites his lip. It's not that he plans on hurting Danny, it's just after what Danny asked at dinner, Isaac is worried that that's how Danny sees him, as violent and hot headed.

"Yeah, Isaac…" Danny looks at him right in the eyes, and Isaac thinks it's the first time he's really paid attention to Danny's eyes.

They're deep, and brown, and it's like looking into two never ending coffee cups. He keeps that thought to himself, though, because he's pretty sure that nothing could make this moment more awkward, or weird, or ruin it better than Isaac mentioning how great Danny's eyes are. Especially when he's never really thought about anyone's eyes before.

"I trust you."

Those words snap Isaac back to reality, and closes his eyes, taking a deep breath. He nods his thanks, and goes back to his book, trying not to look at Danny, because all that he can think about now is how Danny trusts him.

And how he's been lying to him since they met.

**_A/N: Thanks for your patience, it's been a busy few days, and it's going to be a busy week this week, too, so I apologize if the updates aren't as frequent! Please don't be mad! Thanks for reading!_**


	15. Chapter 15

As the days bleed together, Isaac tries hard not to think about the fact that he wants to tell Danny the truth, because he knows that he can't. He's not had anyone in his life since he became a werewolf that mattered to him. At least not someone who didn't already know the truth, and now he gets why it was so hard for Ethan.

Still, the truth has to stay where it is, locked away. Ethan knew that, and he sacrificed his relationship with Danny because of it. Because not knowing is one hell of a lot safer than knowing, and above all else, Isaac wants Danny to be safe. Besides that, he has enough going with Maia, and life, without anything added to that. Finding out that werewolves exist, and that several of his friends are supernatural would probably be a bigger shock to his system than the goalie can handle right now, and Isaac doesn't want to be the one to deliver that shock.

Their schedule isn't exact. They will have days where Isaac's over at Danny's every night, and then he will go three, maybe four days without seeing him at all outside of school. It's weird, but they have a silent agreement, and it works for the two of them really fucking well.

Now, it's been one of those times where several days have passed, and Isaac hasn't even really heard from Danny since Saturday, and now it's Friday, but that's not terribly uncommon, and he's alright with it. Still, that doesn't stop a slight smile from sprawling over his face when he gets to his locker after his last class and finds Danny standing there, waiting for him.

"Hey, what's up?" Isaac asks as he switches out the books in his bags for the ones he'll need over the weekend.

"Can you stay over tonight?" Danny asks, his voice low and hushed. He doesn't want people to get the wrong idea about them, because that would just add to everything, and neither of them needs that. Besides, Isaac's straight, right? And Danny doesn't want to ruin his reputation, if he has one at all, with the ladies.

"Yeah, of course." He nods.

"Alright, let's go." Danny smiles, and the two of them walk to Danny's car.

The ride to Danny's house is short, and filled with mundane conversations about lacrosse, namely how it has been cancelled the last three days because Finstock has been on a trip to see family, or something like that.

"Econ just isn't the same without him," Isaac admits as they walk in the front door at the Mahealani's place.

"I know, right? It's actually a civil class when he's not there, harping on someone…namely Greenberg or Stiles."

"It's so boring though." Isaac fakes a yawn to illustrate his point, and Danny can't help but laugh a little, because being around Isaac has gotten to be one of his biggest comforts. He doesn't know how to say that, though, not to the other man, not to anyone. At all. What they have is easy, and it makes sense, and Danny really needs it, so doing anything that might scare Isaac away? He's not ready for that.

"I never thought any of us would say this, except maybe Greenberg, but I miss Coach," Danny says, a huge grin in place on his face, because this is exactly the kind of easy conversation that he needs right now, the kind of simple thing to take his mind off of his sister's dilemma.

They order a pizza, and since it's Friday night, decide vehemently not to do any homework at all. Instead, they play video games, and watch TV before eventually, as they have gotten so into the routine of, crawl into bed together and fall asleep.

When Isaac wakes up, it's still dark. He looks over at the clock on Danny's bedside table, and sees that it's 3:11 in the morning. He is about to lay down to go back to sleep before looking over, realizing that Danny's not in the bed. He reaches out, and feels – the other side of the bed is cold, and there's no recent indent of the other man's body.

Isaac frowns and gets up. He reaches down and pulls on his lacrosse hoodie over his t-shirt before going to look for Danny.

He finds him on the living room couch, a blanket drawn over his lap, a cup of tea in his hand. The TV isn't on, just one dim lamp, and Danny's just staring at the wall.

"Danny?" Isaac moves closer. "Danny, it's 3 in the morning." He's on the verge of telling him to come back to bed when he gets a good look at Danny's face.

Something's wrong. He's not crying, he's not carrying on in any way. This is an expression that Isaac hasn't seen before, but he knows instantly that it means something is very wrong, and it's not the time to tell him to go back to bed or to sleep on it.

"That's my sweatshirt," Danny says softly, looking over at Isaac.

"What? No it's-" He looks down, spotting the white number '6' on his chest. "Oh, I guess I grabbed the wrong one, it was dark, I didn't-"

"It's fine, Isaac. Looks good on you."

"Oh…uh…thanks." Isaac isn't sure what else to say, because he's pretty sure that it looks exactly the same on him as his own does, just with a different number, and also, why is Danny talking about lacrosse hoodies when something is very clearly bothering him?

"Welcome." Danny reaches over and sets his tea on the coffee table, and as Isaac walks over to the couch, he notices that the mug is still full, but it's not steaming, and he wonders how long Danny has been sitting down here, holding a cup of tea he has no intention of drinking.

Instead of asking, though, Isaac just sits on the couch. He takes the blanket that's resting on Danny's lap and spreads half of it over his own lap, so he's sitting close to Danny. He angles himself so that his head is resting on the soft area between Danny's collar bone and shoulder, and he waits.

It's comfortable, this position, and Danny doesn't move away from it. Isaac resting against him is basically natural at this point, and maybe there's something domestic about the whole scene, but that's not what's on Danny's mind, and it's not what's worrying him right now.

"The chemo still isn't working," he says after a long while.

"Shit." Isaac closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, not sure what to say. "Danny, I'm so sorry, I…what's next, then?"

"Transplant."

"Oh." Isaac shifts slightly against Danny, but doesn't leave the other man's side. He's read some of the pamphlets in the hospital – finding a match can be difficult, and it's a painful process, but it works enough of the time that this might be what they need to help her.

"It's me," Danny says softly, turning to look at Isaac for the first time. "You know that, right?"

"That you're the match?" Isaac asks quietly.

Danny nods.

"I…I suspected, yeah." After all, siblings tend to make the best match for that sort of thing.

"Isaac, I'm scared." Danny looks at him, and Isaac realizes that the expression Danny's been wearing this whole time isn't just pain or sadness, it's all of that, combined with terror. "I'm going to do it, obviously, I want to do it, and I know that I have no right to be scared, but at the same time, I've heard it's really, really painful, and I've been in pain before, but I just-"

"Danny, you have every right to be scared." Isaac cuts him off, because this rant, it's not going to help Danny. He takes a deep breath, looking at him. "What you're doing isn't easy to do. It's surgery, it's painful. It's scary. You have every fucking right to be afraid." Isaac takes a deep breath, pausing, but Danny says nothing, so he continues. "And I'll be there, okay? I'll sit in the waiting room the moment you go in until the moment they'll let me see you, okay? I'll be there."

"You don't…you don't think it's selfish of me?" Danny asks quietly.

"I don't think that you have a selfish bone in your body," Isaac admits, looking Danny right in his big brown eyes.

It's true, really. Isaac used to think that Danny was a nice guy, but a little arrogant, and maybe sometimes he can be, but everything he's arrogant about, he sort of has a right to be. He's smart, he's a lacrosse star, he's gorgeous, he's a nice guy, and yet he spends the majority of his time doing things for other people. He's not selfish. No way.

"You don't think that I'm a coward?"

"I think that being scared and doing it anyways is far braver than not being scared at all." Isaac's voice is soft as he speaks, and he still doesn't take his eyes of Danny, meaning that he watches the change in Danny's expression. It goes from the painful, fearful look, to yet another expression that Isaac hasn't seen before.

Danny doesn't respond to Isaac's words, he simply leans down, placing his hand on Danny's cheek, and guiding him into a soft kiss. It's not aggressive, it's not needy, it's not desperate, it's just one gentle, lingering kiss, a kiss which Isaac returns, and when Danny pulls away, he just looks down at Isaac, saying nothing, just looking at him questioningly.

Isaac nods, wordless as well, and moves, leaning back against Danny.

"I-" Danny starts, but Isaac cuts him off.

"Me too."

"Okay."

Danny says nothing more, but he puts his arm around Isaac, pulling him close. They stay like that until they fall asleep, cuddled up on the couch together. Nothing else needs to be said, not right now. There's something between them, and now they both know that, but now just isn't the time to talk about it.

_**A/N: So two things! First off, YAY FIRST KISS! Please let me know what you thought of it. I know some people liked the slow build, don't know about others, but I hope that you liked the way I chose to do this. I didn't really plan it out, but yeah...second, slightly bad news depending on who you are, it's March Madness, and I'm a MASSIVE basketball fan, so until the Championship Game at the beginning of april, chapters are going to be less frequent. Fear not, I am still writing, I am just focused on other things for a bit! Love you guys, and thanks so much for your loyalty thus far! It's amazing to me that this many people are reading this story, especially since it's such a rare pair.**_


	16. Chapter 16

"Something's different about you," Scott says, looking up from the kitchen table the second Isaac walks in.

It's Saturday afternoon, just a few hours since Danny kissed him, really, but Danny has to be with his family at the hospital getting all of the details for the transplant hammered out, so Isaac's home.

"What? No it's not," Isaac says instantly. "Nothing's different. What would be different?"

"Oh my god!" Scott's eyes widen, and he stands up, going over to Isaac. "You kissed him!"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about," Isaac says, trying to push past Scott to head upstairs because, well, he doesn't know how to explain this one, and yeah, he's worried that this change in whatever is going on between him and Danny is going to screw up the pack dynamic.

"Stop. You're lying." Scott reaches out, his hand on Isaac's chest, preventing him from getting any farther. "Did you or did you not kiss Danny?"

"I didn't, I…sort of?" Isaac gulps, looking at Scott. There's just no way he can get around this one, he's sure, but he doesn't know what to say.

"Sort of?" Scott raises an eyebrow, folding his arms across his chest, looking at Isaac, waiting for an explanation.

"He kissed me," Isaac admits.

"And…did you kiss him back?" Scott asks.

"I don't know, sort of, it was fast, I just…please, don't tell anyone. Even Ethan – god, especially Ethan." He closes his eyes, reaching up, raking his hand through his hair.

"Did you want to kiss him back?" Scott asks.

"I…I don't know," Isaac says softly.

"You're lying again."

"God, fine, yes, okay?" Isaac looks miserable, but Scott? He's fucking smiling. "What? Why are you smiling like that? That's weird, stop."

"I'm smiling because I have been waiting for this for weeks now!"

"What? You have?"

"Yes, you tall idiot!" Scott reaches out, punching Isaac playfully in the arm. "You've been hanging around him for like, months now, he's gay, and nice, and awesome, and you're…you, and you've been sharing a bed! Did you really think that this wasn't going to happen?"

"I…" he bites his lip. "I guess I didn't think that much about it, but Scott, you really do have to keep this quiet, with Ethan…I don't want to cause bad blood in the pack, and you know that this sort of thing can do just that. And Danny doesn't need the trouble right now. His sister…" Isaac trails off, looking down at the ground, and Scott's smile fades.

"What? What's happening?" He asks.

"The chemotherapy isn't working, they have to do the transplant, and Danny is the donor, he's the match…so…he has a lot on his plate right now, and he only kissed me because he was freaking out, I think…actually, no, there's…you're right, there is something there."

"Why are you trying to talk yourself out of this?" Scott asks, looking at his friend.

"Because," Isaac mutters. "It's Danny, and the same thing that broke up him and Ethan would come between him and me, and that's just…I don't want him to have to go through that again, all of the lies, and you know that we can't tell him the truth."

"So what are you going to do?" Scott looks at Isaac, one eyebrow raised, because it's clear that they're too far down some road to do nothing, but he's not sure what Isaac thinks he's going to do, what he thinks will help.

"I'm going to get him through the procedure, I'm going to help with the pain, and then, when he's in a better place, I'll explain to him that I'm just not the kind of guy you get involved with, and he'll understand." Isaac gulps. "He's Danny. He knows that what I come from isn't the best, and he'll believe that maybe that fucked me up enough not to be able to really…give him what he wants, needs, and deserves."

"Jesus, Isaac," Scott sighs, pulling his friend into a hug. "I love you, but you have to stop being such a fucking martyr. If you want him, if you truly do, and if he wants you, we'll figure it out, okay?" He smiles up at Isaac, and Isaac tries to smile back, but it's shaky and awkward. "We'll find a way."

"Thank you." Isaac nods solemnly, but gratefully, at Scott before heading up to his room to figure out what to do. This isn't going to be easy, because there are feelings involved that Isaac hasn't ever really felt before, feelings that he doesn't really know how to handle, but at the same time, he knows that he has to figure it out, because there is a lot going on, and he can't just ignore it. Not forever.

It doesn't take Isaac too long to realize that he has to talk to Scott again. Scott isn't just his best friend, his brother, but he's also his alpha, and Isaac is more conflicted than he's ever been in his entire life, and he thinks he has good reason for it, too.

"Scott?" Isaac knocks at his friends door, and it opens instantly.

"Isaac, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not." He shake his head. "I don't know what I'm doing, Scott. I'm so out of my depth, and this whole thing…it's all about comfort and being there for him, and I don't really know how to do that. This is new to me. I'm so…I'm so messed up in so many ways I don't know right from left sometimes, and Danny, he's…he's Danny. Scott…"

"Danny is smart, Danny is understanding," Scott says quietly, looking at his friend, his brother. "You're freaking out because you actually like him – and don't try to tell me that's not true," he says quickly when Isaac opens his mouth to protest. "It's okay, you know. To want someone, to want something, that might take a little work to get, but Danny? He's exactly the kind of person that you should be with. He's strong, and he's sweet. He'd never hurt you, and that's what you need. Someone who won't hurt you."

"It's not just that," Isaac says softly. "I don't…what about Maia? What if the transplant doesn't work? This is her last chance. At least it's her last chance with where standard human science is…" Isaac trails off, looking up at Scott, who's eyes instantly wide.

"Isaac, I know you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting," he says, shaking his head the second that the question even begins to arise.

"No, no…I mean, what if I am?"

"If you are…she's a child, Isaac. I don't want to turn anyone at all, let alone a kid!"

"But what if it's the difference between life and death?" Isaac asks.

"This isn't some sort of all purpose cure, Isaac, it's dangerous, and the younger the wolf, the more volatile they'll be, I just can't…I can't do that. Death is natural."

"She's a child!" He argues, and it's clear that Isaac's getting pretty hysterical. "I had to stay at home and do fuck all while my brother died in war, and it is not fair to stand by and watch Danny do the same thing! Not if there was something that we could do to help, Scott, I…I have to help him, but I can't do this. You're the only one who can."

"Isaac," Scott reaches out, putting his hand on Isaac's shoulders. "I'll think about it, okay? I don't have to decide right now, and this sort of decision shouldn't be made at the drop of a hat. I know that, and you know that, so just take a deep breath, take a step back, and we'll see. Hey, maybe we won't even need to think about it." He smiles, hoping that that will encourage his friend to calm down. "Maybe the transplant will work. Maybe she'll be just fine in no time at all."

"Yeah." Isaac nods, taking a deep breath. "M-maybe."

"Right now, just hope for that, okay? And we'll start deciding which bridges to cross when – and if – we get to them."

Isaac leaves it at that, because while it's not the promise he went to Scott looking for, he knows the other boy is right. Scott is smart, and he's wise, and more than that, he's a good guy. Isaac knows that he doesn't want Maia to die, but he does want what's best for her – and this, being a werewolf? It's not always easy, there are some things that it will always make harder.

And one of those things, Isaac knows, as he lies down on his bed, staring at the ceiling, is being with other people. He wants Danny, he really does, but he just doesn't know if he can swing it, if he can put Danny through the lies all over again. It just doesn't seem fair.

_**A/N As always, thanks for reading! I hope to have another update soon, you guys are the BEST!**_


	17. Chapter 17

When Isaac sees Danny again, things just continue the way that they were…except now they kiss. It's only when they are alone – never at the hospital when they are visiting Maia, never when they are studying in the living room at Danny's house, and his parents are home, and absolutely never, _ever_ at school.

It's not making out, either. They don't wait for the bedroom door to close and the pounce on each other like cats in heat, or anything like that. It's different. It's only ever one, maybe two kisses at a time, and they're always soft, gentle.

Isaac will climb into bed, tell Danny to scoot over, and before he obliges, Danny will lean over, smile, and kiss Isaac softly. Isaac will return the kiss, and they will put their arms around each other and fall asleep, just like that.

They haven't talked about it, but it's not weird. Granted, it's only been a few days, really, but it feels good, it feels right.

Isaac knows that he should stop the behavior. That he should tell Danny that it's not a good idea for so many reasons, namely because of Ethan, even though that's only half the truth, and sometimes, he even tells himself that he's going to, but then Danny smiles at him, or kisses him, and he cares. Danny _cares_ about Isaac. He smiles at him like he cares about him, he kisses him like he cares about him – not like he's in love with him, but like he cares, and for Isaac, that's a huge step.

He can't just push away someone who cares about him. Especially not when he cares for that someone right back.

"And…finished. Whoo!" Danny whoops in celebration as he hits save on his laptop, closing out his English term paper. He's been working his ass off these past few days to try and get as much of his work done as possible before he's in the hospital for the transplant. Sure, they would definitely give him more time and extensions, but he's Danny, and he would rather get it done earlier, than have to make it up later.

"Ugh, I hate you," Isaac moans, flopping down, his forehead dropping to the surface of the kitchen table. He's working on an old laptop that belongs to the McCall's. The kind where he has to save every 30 seconds to make sure he doesn't lose his work, but at least it's better than nothing.

"Do not," Danny says, teasing Isaac as the other boy raises his head to look at his own term paper. He's got the title, and his name at the top, and that's it.

And Danny's finished.

"You're all peppy and academic, and you've finished your paper and I don't even have my introduction." He lets out a sigh and hits save, even though there isn't really anything there worth saving.

"Yeah, but you have two weeks," Danny points out. "I'm going to be in the hospital pretty soon, and the recovery time fluctuates from person to person, and-"

"I know." Isaac looks over at Danny, because he does know. He's looked at all of the same information, paranoid to hell and back that something could go wrong. "I'm not complaining, I mean I am, but I'm sorry, I…"

"Isaac." Danny shakes his head. "It's okay. I'm just trying to tell you that you'll do just find, and I'm reminding you that you don't hate me."

"Okay." Isaac smiles weakly at him, and turns back to his paper.

Seconds later, Danny's up, walking to where Isaac is.

"Hey," Danny leans down so that he's level with Isaac, and puts his hand on Isaac's cheek, drawing his gaze upwards, looking into Isaac's fierce, blue eyes. "You're going to do fine on the paper, okay? You're smart. I know you are."

"I'm not smart like you, Danny, you just-"

But before Isaac can get the chance to finish what he's saying, Danny leans in, kissing him, shutting him up, and Isaac's glad for it. He has low self esteem, he knows he does, everyone knows that he does…including Danny, and Danny's way of showing him that he's wrong, that he's worth something, is to lean down and do just what he's doing right now. Kissing him.

"Thank you," Isaac mutters when Danny pulls away.

"No, Isaac." Danny looks at him, shaking his head. "Thank _you_. You're the one bending over backwards to take care of someone who's never given you the time of day before."

"Yeah, well…" Isaac looks at Danny, a slight smile playing on his face. "I'm only doing it for Maia, so-"

"Oh shut up," Danny rolls his eyes, but there's a smile on his face as well; after all he's enjoying the riffing off of one another.

"Make me," Isaac says boldly, raising one eyebrow at Danny.

For a second, Danny wonders how in god's name Isaac can get his eyebrow to go that high, and then he's doing exactly what Isaac's asked him to. He's pulling the other man to his feet, pulling him close, and kissing him.

And this time, it's different.

This isn't just some simple, chaste, peck on the lips that makes them both feel better. This is a heated kiss, this is a _real_ kiss. This was the kind of kiss that he'd shared with Allison before they both took two steps back and decided that it was bad morale for the pack if they did anything past that.

This is the kind of kiss that could get a guy into trouble, and Isaac knows he should be pulling away as fast as he can, but instead, his hands find Danny's waist and he grabs a fistful of Danny's shirt, clinging to it as Danny's free arm – the one that's not attached to the hand cupping his cheek, makes it's way around Isaac's waist, pulling him in, keeping him there…not that Isaac is trying to escape.

When they pull apart, Isaac literally stumbles backwards, his balance totally gone from the shock of anyone, let alone Danny Mahealani, kissing him like that.

"I…" he looks at Danny, utterly confused. Isaac's head is telling him to run for the door, his body telling him to grab Danny by the hand and dragging him to the bathroom, and his heart? His heart is racing, completely out of control, to the point where Isaac thinks that, if he's not careful, it might explode.

Danny opens his mouth, and Isaac isn't really sure, but he thinks that Danny is on the verge of apologizing, and Isaac doesn't want that. He doesn't want that, because he's not upset about what just happened between them. At all. He's living for it right now. He's never had anyone kiss him like that, not even Allison, though that was the closest it ever got. She kissed him to inspire him, and it worked, but Danny? It's different, and Isaac can just feel it.

Before Danny can say the words, apologizing for one of what Isaac honestly thinks is probably one of the most amazing moments in his life, he reaches out and pulls Danny back into the kiss. He's gripping the fabric of Danny's shirt tightly, like if he lets go, the world is going to end, and Danny goes with it. He holds Isaac close, he kisses him, he runs his hand up and down Isaac's side, the hem of Isaac's shirt creeping up, but Danny is too invested in the kiss, too involved, to even try to go for a feel.

Isaac knows, as they stand there, in the kitchen, making out, that things are changing, that whatever they are, it's escalating, and he really wants to be able to bring himself to tear away from Danny and list all of the many reasons why this isn't a good idea, except he can't, because right now, he can't think of a single reason why this isn't the most amazing idea anyone has ever had.

And Danny? Well, it's been a long time since he kissed someone like Isaac, someone who's kind, and gentle, and sweet. He goes for the bad boys, because there's some raw sex appeal in that, but there's also something about Isaac, something so open, and so caring, that it doesn't even occur to him that, one level below, Isaac might be just as closed off and secretive as Ethan was at the height of their problems.

* * *

**_A/N Okay, wanted to bring them a little closer, have something a little more on the verge of romance! Let me know what you guys think! I'm very curious to know! _**


	18. Chapter 18

"So…Thai?"

A couple of days later, Isaac and Danny leave lacrosse practice, discussing their dinner plans, what to get for take out before they buckle down to study. It's only a couple of days until the donation, the transplant, but they're not talking about it. Not yet.

"Um, sure, yeah." Isaac shrugs.

"Don't like Thai?" Danny asks.

"I've never tried it," Isaac admits. And it's true. He's not had a lot of things like that.

"What? Oh my god! You haven't lived unless-"

Danny stops short, and it takes Isaac a few seconds to realize why, but then he sees it. There, leaning up against Danny's car, is Jackson fucking Whittemore.

"Oh my god!" Danny's face lights up, and he drops his backpack – lacrosse stick and all – to approach Jackson, who instantly pulls him into a tight embrace, and that's something Isaac though he would never see; Jackson caring about someone other than himself.

"Name's Jackson," Jackson smirks. "But if you wanna call me god, I'm not gonna be the one to stop you."

"Ah, good to know you haven't changed much." Danny is still all grins.

"Yup. Still a douche bag," Jackson nods.

"What are you doing here? I mean you said-"

"I know what I said, but that was before, you know…when you told me about the transplant, it was pretty clear where I needed to be."

The look on Danny's face is one that Isaac has seen before, and he knows what it is. It's gratitude, and maybe even a little bit of love, and Isaac, who is hanging back, fiddling with his backpack straps, feels sort of like maybe he should just go. After all, now that Jackson's here, Danny won't notice, right?

"Oh come on, are you really that surprised?" Jackson asks, looking at Danny, who just shrugs. "Come on, give me some credit! I may be a douche bag, but I'm still your best friend. I'll prove it. I'll buy you dinner."

"Oh, um…" Danny shifts awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Isaac and I were actually just about to go for Thai…"

"No, no.' Isaac cuts in, shaking his head. "I'll go home, it's not a big deal at all."

"You sure?" Danny asks, biting his lip.

"Yeah, of course!" Isaac nods. "Jackson's been gone for ages, you two need to catch up." He turns and starts walking away, trying not to feel hurt – after all, he has no reason to, not really.

"Wow."

"What?" Danny looks at Jackson', who's staring at him skeptically, one eyebrow raised judgmentally high. What Danny doesn't know, the piece of the puzzle that he's missing, is that Jackson can smell the disappointment on Isaac.

"Go after him, for fuck's sake." Jackson groans.

"But you and I need to catch up, he said it's fine, he-"

"We will catch up, we'll do it right now, just after you go catch up with him. Make other plans for later. I used to live across the street from him," Jackson states. He stops before he says anything else, but Danny gets the message.

"Oh, right." Danny nods, jogging after him. "Isaac, wait!"

Isaac stops and turns around. "Yeah?"

"Come over later?" Danny asks, tilting his head charmingly, endearingly, to the side.

"Oh." Isaac smiles, and nods. "Yeah, sure. What time?"

"Maybe…" Danny looks down, checking his watch. "Around nine?"

"Okay." Isaac nods again, and turns to leave, but Danny grabs his arm and pulls Isaac back around, kissing him.

The parking lot is cleared out, so only Jackson really sees it, but Isaac is still bright red when they pull away.

"See you tonight," Isaac mumbles before breaking into a run towards the McCall's place.

"What the hell was that?" Jackson asks as he gets into the passenger's seat of Danny's car.

"I just…he makes me feel good." Danny shrugs. "You've been gone a long time, you promised me dinner? I'll explain while we eat."

"You still want Thai?" Jackson asks, climbing into the passenger's seat.

"Yeah."

Danny drives them to the Thai place, and they order – Jackson even offers to pay for take out for Isaac after Danny tells him that Isaac has never had Thai.

"Alright, I'll buy him dinner too. On one condition."

"And what's that?" Danny asks.

"You tell me what the hell is going on between the two of you. The last time we spoke, you were just friends, and now you're kissing him goodbye in the parking lot? That's one hell of a development, and I'm actually disappointed that you didn't tell me already!"

"Okay." Danny nods, because Jackson's right, he should have told him this already, but he didn't know how to put it into words, and he still doesn't.

He takes a few minutes, taking a sip of his Thai iced tea, trying to figure out exactly how to say what needs to be said here. He doesn't want Jackson to flip his lid, or to go on some rant about how Danny and Isaac just don't go together, because he doesn't want to fucking hear that, so he has to present it correctly.

"We've been hanging out, and he's been helping with Maia, and he stays here, you know, when my parents are at the hospital so that I don't have to be alone, and the other night, when I told him that I was donating, and that I was scared, he just sort of looked at me, and Jackson, you didn't see him, his eyes…" Danny sighs, looking up at his best friend. "He was there for me. 100%. This kid that I didn't give the time of day before, the kid that we'd definitely made fun of, and he didn't care. He was there, telling me that it was okay to be scared, and that he thought I was brave, and not a coward, and I really needed to hear those words. I didn't know how else to react, so I kissed him, and it felt right, it just was, and now we…sort of just…kiss?"

"Are you a couple?" Jackson asks.

"No, not yet, I honestly don't know if that's where we're headed, I just want to get through all of this stuff with Maia, but if that goes well, and things calm down…I don't know." Danny shrugs, looking down, and he doesn't realize that he's started to smile until he's grinning. "I think I'd like to be."

"Just be careful, okay?" Jackson bites his lip, because he knows. He knows that Isaac's got a secret that Danny doesn't know, and he knows that Danny's been lied to and fucked around on enough. He needs someone that will be good to him, yes, but also open and honest with him, and he's not sure that Isaac Lahey can ever be that person.

"Yes, mother," Danny rolls his eyes, turning his attention to his noodles as they arrive, because that's easier than thinking about everything else, and he understands why Jackson's being over protective. It's because he cares.

They eat, and talk, and catch up on the whole London thing, and what's been going on here in Beacon Hills since Jackson has been gone.

Jackson is mid sentence, describing some of the major vocabulary differences between America and Britain, when he hears a voice behind him.

"Hi, I'm picking up for Martin?"

He whips around, and sure enough, there's Lydia, standing at the hostess stand, digging through her purse for her wallet.

She looks perfect.

She looks better than perfect, and Jackson knows that he's staring, knows that his jaw is hanging open, but he can't pull himself away. It's been a long time since he's seen her in person, too long.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." She looks up, and her eyes lock on Jackson for a split second before she turns away. She slams her credit card down, and the woman hands over the bag with Lydia's order.

"Hey, I've got her food," Jackson calls, standing up, fumbling for his own wallet.

"I can buy my own dinner, Whittemore," Lydia states, pushing her own card forwards. The woman runs it and hands it back, and without another word, Lydia signs the slip and grabs her meal, turning on her heel, hair flipping perfectly as she does so, and walks at the door.

"Lydia, wait!" Jackson jogs after her, but she doesn't slow down, doesn't stop. "Lydia…I can…Lydia! Just give me a damn second!"

"You had your chance," she states, climbing into the car.

She's barely got her seatbelt on before she's peeling out of the parking lot, leaving Jackson just standing there, staring after her car as it gets smaller.

"Hey." Danny comes up to him, his hand on Jackson's shoulder. "You okay?"

"That…did not go as I had hoped," he admits.

"It never does." Danny squeezes his friends shoulder affectionately. "Come on, there's a six pack in my fridge, and my parents are out all night."

"Okay." Jackson nods, because right now, he just can't get the image of Lydia out of his head, and beer sounds about the only thing that's gonna help right now. "I just didn't expect her to look so good…"

"I know, man," Danny says, guiding Jackson towards his car. "I know."

* * *

**_A/N I needed Jackson there, and I wanted him to be there for Danny! I hope you guys like his return! And as a DIE HARD Lydia/Jackson shipper...yeah...also my spring break is over, so updates are probably going to go back to being less frequent as I go back to work. Don't worry, I may be slower, but I'm still writing!_**


	19. Chapter 19

By the time Isaac gets over to Danny's at 9, Jackson is asleep in the guest room from jetlag – after all, he had to fake tipsy, because the beer had no effect on him at all.

Danny opens the door, a little tipsy himself, and pulls Isaac inside, hugging him. "Glad you're here!" he says with a grin.

Of course, Isaac can smell the alcohol on him instantly.

"Have you been drinking?" he asks.

"Yeah." Danny nods. "Just a little. I'm not drunk. We had a few beers, no big deal."

"Okay." Isaac nods, but he's rigid about it. Alcohol sort of scares him. His dad probably didn't drink more than the average person, but when he was drunk, everything that he did already, everything that was already bad, was just ten times worse.

"You're mad at me," Danny states, frowning, folding his arms across his chest.

"No, no." Isaac shakes his head. "I'm not mad, I promise." He slaps a smile onto his face. "Just mad you had the party without me," he teased.

"Oh, you wanna beer? Wanna play catch up?" Danny turns his body towards the kitchen, but Isaac stops him.

"I'm good. I don't really drink, it's fine."

"Okay, well uh..." Danny shrugs. "What do you wanna do?"

"Whatever, I mean, you asked me to come over, so…"

He's not sure why, but this feels awkward. Maybe it's because he knows Jackson is asleep in the other room, he can smell him all over the house, he can smell him on Danny, and while he knows it's just friendship, some part of Isaac is actually jealous, but maybe that's just the part of him that's afraid that if Jackson's back, Danny won't need him anymore.

"What's with you?" Danny asks. "You're not fine."

"I'm fine," Isaac insists, and he decides right then and there not to slip up again. He's not good at this sort of thing, and he doesn't want to talk about his feelings towards alcohol, not right now, not when Danny's been drinking, and not when he's got other stuff going on.

So much other stuff.

So he does the only thing that he can think of.

He pulls Danny in close, and he kisses him.

Danny tastes like beer, and Isaac doesn't particularly like that, but his lips are soft, and unlike Isaac's father, he's not rough when he's been drinking. Danny pulls Isaac in closer, his hands tender as the run along Isaac's sides, because even drunk, which he's not, Danny doesn't have a cruel bone in his body.

When Isaac pulls away from the kiss, most of his upset feelings about the alcohol consumption are gone, because Danny's just as gentle as he ever was. He's tender, and sweet, and Isaac feels stupid for ever having thought that he wasn't.

"Do you think we can just go to bed?" Danny asks, his hand on Isaac's cheek, gently caressing Isaac's skin.

Isaac leans into the touch and closes his eyes for a moment, because Danny's tender with him, he's like no one's ever been with him. The alcohol has taken away some of Danny's inhibitions, some of the things that have stopped him from touching Isaac like this, but he's not drunk enough to do something stupid, something he'd really regret.

"Yeah." Isaac nods, not wanting to break the touch. Danny's palm is warm, and slightly calloused, but somehow, that's just as comforting as something soft and smooth.

"Okay, come on." Danny's hand moves from Isaac's cheek to take Isaac's hand, and he leads the other man to the bedroom.

Isaac sets his things down and kicks off his shoes. He takes off his sweatshirt and tosses it to the side, and moves to take off his shirt when Danny stops him.

"Let me," Danny says softly, and he reaches out, taking the hem of Isaac's shirt and lifting it gently over the other boy's head.

Isaac knows this is a bad idea. He knows that he should stop whatever it is that's happening right now, knows that it's just going to make telling Danny that they can't do this anymore that much harder when he gets to that point. He already doesn't want to separate his life from Danny, and this? The touches, the softness, the kissing, it's making it harder.

"Danny…" Isaac looks at him, standing there, shirtless, while Danny takes in the sight.

"I just mean sleeping," Danny clarifies. "I just wanted to-"

"Okay." Isaac nods, and they pull away from each other. Danny pulls off his shirt and puts on a pair of sweats, and Isaac puts on a pair of flannel sleep pants and a t-shirt, because while Danny seems not to mind, Isaac's not sure he's ready to be shirtless in bed with him yet, not with how he feels, and how he knows he has to stop that feeling.

They get into bed, and Danny's arms fit right around Isaac. Isaac leans into the touch and closes his eyes. He knows that this can't go anywhere good, he knows that he's walking right into trouble, but Danny's skin his warm against Isaac, his breath feels good on Isaac's neck, and while Danny falls asleep right away, Isaac lies there for several minutes, just taking in the feeling.

The procedure is on Saturday. Danny will give his bone marrow, and then later, Maia will get it. If she gets better, when she gets better, Isaac is going to do what he has to do, because he can't lead Danny down that path…and yet right now, the idea of never being in Danny's arms like this again is absolutely heart breaking.

He falls asleep trying not to stress out about it, not to think about it.

"Rise and shine, love birds!" Jackson looms over Isaac and Danny, and they both wake with a start.

"Jesus!" Isaac shoots back, almost hitting the wall, and Danny just looks at his best friend, upset.

"What the fuck, Jackson?" Danny groans.

"Don't be mad, I brought coffee." Jackson holds out two mugs of coffee, and Danny begrudgingly takes one, while Isaac takes the other, saying nothing. "So, I was thinking I could catch a ride to the high school with you?"

"Is this about Lydia?" Danny asks.

"No, I just want to spend as much time with my best buddy as I can before I have to go back," Jackson states.

Danny says nothing, but he looks at Jackson reproachfully over the top of his coffee mug as he drinks.

"Okay, yes, it's about Lydia, can we just do it?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Danny grumbles. "Now out!"

"You're not kicking him out," Jackson argues, gesturing to Isaac.

Danny just looks over at Jackson and glares, because he doesn't really want to say it. It's different with Isaac, and Danny knows that Jackson knows that. He's just being an asshole.

He's just being Jackson.

They manage to get to school alright, and since it's the last day Danny has before he's got to go have bone marrow taken from his body, he rushes off to go talk to teachers. Isaac moves to follow, but Jackson puts his hand on Isaac's arm, pulling him back.

"You and I need to talk," Jackson says, his voice low, and Isaac can sense there's something threatening there.

"Okay, but right now I have-"

"You can skip first period," Jackson assures him, hauling him towards the baseball dugout – one of the best places to hide on campus.

Isaac doesn't want to go with him, because he's afraid of the conversation that's coming, but it's Jackson. He knows that he doesn't really have a choice, because if he and Jackson come to blows, Danny's going to have to deal with yet another thing, and that's the last thing that Danny needs right now.

His best friend fighting with, well…whatever Isaac is.

* * *

**_A/N Okay, I'm still waffling on the Isaac/Jackson dynamic, because (and as many of you have asked me about), I'm not sure how to handle Jackson knowing, or at least suspecting, that Isaac's father was abusive and doing nothing. It seems like a lot to bite off for fanfiction, and I don't want to detract from my main plot, so...I just hope I don't upset anyone! Also, this is probably the last update until the weekend! Sorry it won't be as regular, but I foresee a very stressful week back at work, which means less time and energy to write! Sorry! I hope you stick with the story, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!_**


	20. Chapter 20

"Sit down." Jackson gestures to the bench at the dugout, and Isaac does as he's told. He stays silent, waiting for Jackson to speak, because while he has a vague idea of what's going on, he doesn't want to be the one to start that conversation.

For a while, Jackson just paces back and forth, and the scent that Isaac picks up isn't what he thought it would be. It's not anger, it's not some threatening "I'm about to kick your ass" sort of scent.

It's nerves.

"I've been doing research," Jackson says finally, looking at Isaac. "On this whole transplant thing."

"Yeah." Isaac nods. "Um, me too."

"It's painful, the donation process…it's really painful…and it's long." He looks at Isaac. "It's supposed to be one of the most painful donation processes, I mean, they put you under, but…the needle is massive."

"I know." Isaac nods.

"We can't go in with him, but we can be with him in the hospital after, I mean, as long as the Mahealani's sign off on it."

"I don't know if he'll want me there," Isaac says, because he promised to be there, and he will be, but now that Jackson's here, he sort of assumes he'll just be in the waiting room.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Lahey? Danny's crazy about you, and maybe he hasn't told you, and maybe you're too in denial to smell it on him, but it is what it is. He'll want you there if you offer to be there, and I'll be there, too," he says. "And we'll take turns."

"Take turns?" He frowns.

"Yes. Take turns."

"Doing what?" Isaac asks.

"Taking away his pain, you dip shit! God, do I have to spell everything out for you."

"Oh, right." Isaac nods. "That. Yeah, I think…I think if we're careful, we can do it, but we have to be careful."

"What?"

"Have you ever over done it?" Isaac asks. "The pain thing?"

"Um, no…" Jackson admits, because he hasn't.

Jackson may have been looking at his life, and prioritizing certain people more lately, wishing he'd treated them differently when he was around, and trying to treat them better now, but kicking a habit like being selfish, the way has been for so long, isn't exactly easy. He doesn't have a lot of practice with the pain thing.

"Well I have," Isaac begins. "I over did it the other week with Maia. I took too much pain, and I could barely function. I have to sleep it off, take a day off school. I agree with you, that we should take as much as we can, but at the end of the day, we have to be careful, because if we both get sick just from sitting with him…"

"He'll know something's up?" Jackson asks.

"He might." Isaac shrugs.

"Well is that such a bad thing?"

"What? Yes, of course it is!" Isaac nods, because he doesn't think that there's any good way to really combat that. In his mind, Danny shouldn't know about werewolves, because it will put him in danger, and he knows that he's not the only person who feels that way, because Ethan didn't tell Danny, either.

"I don't think you're right about that," Jackson states. "I do think that now isn't the right time, that he has too much going on, but I think that when everything works out with Maia, when she gets better – if she gets better – that he needs to know."

"And why do you think that?" Isaac asks.

He stands to his full height, which is a good deal taller than Jackson, and stares him down, because he just plan thinks it's wrong.

"It's dangerous for him to know, and you know that, I know that. We both do."

"It's just as dangerous for him not to know," Jackson counters. "Because he's a part of it. He's close to me, he's close to Lydia, and now he's close to you, too, and if you want things to work between the two of you, he has to know, because he's been lied to or cheated on by everyone he's dated, and he doesn't deserve that. Not again."

"Right, so he'd rather be dating a werewolf than someone who lies?" Isaac asks sarcastically.

"Yes!" Jackson nods. "Isaac, you're hard on yourself, and I get that, sometimes I think you should be, but I was talking to Danny last night, and he said some things that I wouldn't have believed, except I could tell that he wasn't lying. He cares about you, he cares about the way you care for him. He's never had anyone like that in his life, not really. Sure, everyone likes Danny, but because he's such a nice guy, he gets walked all over, and he's too proud to show that to anyone."

"But he shows it to you?" Isaac asks.

"Yes." Jackson nods. "Look, I'm not saying that you have to tell him."

"Then what are you saying?" Isaac snaps. "Because it sounds an awful lot like that's what you're saying."

"I'm saying that if you don't tell him, I will – and that's not a threat, okay? It's an offer."

"Oh." Isaac nods, sitting back down, resting his elbows on his thighs, and dropping his head to his hands.

He doesn't think that there's any good way to do this, because he really doesn't think that Danny should know. He never thought that, but now that Jackson's explaining it, it sort of sounds, well…right. Danny is a part of this. Danny has been pulled into this world because of the people that he loves, and he's just a few steps from knowing, from finding out anyways.

"I think," Isaac says finally. "That he should hear it from you. Sure, maybe he and I have gotten close lately, but you've been friends with him since you were kids, and I think that…that you should be the one to tell him. I think it'll go down easier if he hears it from you."

"Okay." Jackson nods. "I mean, you don't have to decide now, but I've got my eye on you, okay? I'm telling you once, and once only, that he cares for you, and if you don't care for him, you need to tell him before it gets out of hand, you need to-."

"I do," Isaac interrupts Jackson, and Jackson looks at him, saying nothing, waiting for Isaac to finish. "I care for him, and…and I don't plan on hurting him, so spare me the best friend threat, okay? If I hurt Danny, you won't be the only one coming after me, but I don't think you'll have anything to worry about," Isaac admits. "Once you tell him everything, I'm pretty sure that's it. He won't want me anymore."

"Is that what this is really about?" Jackson asks. "Is that why you really don't want him to know? You're afraid of what he'll think of you? That he'll think you're some sort of fucked up abomination?"

"No, god, no, that's not what I'm saying, I-" Isaac stops himself short, though, because Jesus Christ. That's exactly what he's afraid of, and he just hasn't really thought about it before.

He never thought that he'd be sitting here, talking to Jackson about something that mattered so much, and realizing that Jackson is right.

"Fuck." Isaac sighs. "Maybe…maybe that is what I'm afraid of."

"It's Danny," Jackson states. "If anyone is going to be understanding about this, it's him. If Allison could take it, so can he."

"Yeah." Isaac nods, standing, grabbing his backpack again. "Okay, well good talk. I'm going to go to class, okay?"

He's shaken up by what they've been talking about, and he doesn't want to deal with it anymore. He just wants to zone out to the sound of someone lecturing about something he doesn't care about.

"Okay. And Isaac?" Jackson asks.

"What?"

"Put in a good word for me with Lydia? I know you think I'm an asshole, but I'm not a bad guy, and I'm trying to be better."

"You love her?" he asks.

"Yeah." Jackson nods. "I really do. You know that, everyone who saw what happened last year knows that, well except maybe Lydia. I didn't want to leave her, but I needed to move."

"Okay." Isaac nods. "I'll do what I can." He turns and walks back to school, trying not to think about what Jackson said as he does.

_**A/N As you can see, I chose not to deal with the Jackson/Isaac dynamic in this chapter, but I DO have plans to address it later. I know how I want to do it now, so I hope that works for you guys! Anyways, sorry for the belated update, I had a weird week, hopefully there will be more regular posting, but I'm not 100% sure I'll be as fast as I was this coming week, still recovering and whatnot. Thanks so much for continuing to read, and I promise to continue to write!**_


	21. Chapter 21

The procedure comes on a Saturday morning, and Isaac and Jackson both stay at the Mahealani's the night before. They all pile into the Mahealani's car, and head to the hospital, where they divide. Mr. and Mrs. Mahealani ask if Danny wants him there, but he's got Jackson and Isaac, and he feels like Maia is going to need the comforting more.

Jackson promises to keep Mrs. Mahealani updated by text message, and she eventually agrees. After all, he's not going unconscious, it's not surgery, it's just an extraction…like giving blood, but about 50 times more painful, from what they've all heard.

As Danny checks in, and gets led to the station, Isaac and Jackson can both smell the fear on him, but they say nothing, not to him, not to each other, because Danny is standing tall, and they both admire him so much for what he's doing. They want to support him, it's why they're here, after all.

"Alright, this is going to hurt," the nurse warns, looking at Danny, flanked by his two, only slightly intimidating, best friends.

"I know." Danny nods, and Jackson and Isaac both hear his heart rate pick up. "I don't care."

"Okay." The nurse smiles. "I think what you're doing is amazing," she says, as she prepares him for everything. The whole preparation takes awhile, there's an IV, and Danny looks away during that part.

That's when Isaac realizes something it seems Jackson has known, but didn't tell him.

Danny is afraid of needles.

Danny is terrified of them, and here he is, about to undergo a procedure involving one of the biggest needles in medicine today. Holy shit, the guy is brave.

"I'm gonna get the good stuff pretty soon," Danny says with a smile, gesturing to the IV, and it's pretty clear that he's trying to be funny to keep himself calm.

"Hell yeah." Jackson smiles. "You're going to go to sleep, you won't feel any of it, okay?" He knows that Danny will be hurting when he wakes up, but he also knows that he and Isaac will be right there to shut that hurting down. Danny isn't going to feel any more pain than is absolutely necessary, because Jackson wasn't able to do this the first time, when Danny had to have the barbs put in, but he can sure as fuck help him now, and he's going to.

"And we'll be here, okay?" Isaac doesn't know what to say, but he feels like he has to say something. "When you wake up, we'll be right here."

"Thank you." Danny nods, gulping, showing just a tiny bit of the same vulnerability he showed Isaac that night on the couch when they first kissed. His heart is still racing, and he's terrified, Isaac can feel it, he knows Jackson can, too.

"You're gonna do great," Isaac assures him, reaching out, taking Danny's hand, more out of habit than anything. He squeezes gently, and he's surprise to note Danny's heart rate evening out a little. Isaac leans down, whispering in his ear. "I think you're the bravest person I've ever met, and it's okay to be scared, don't forget that. It's okay."

"Thank you." Danny nods, and Isaac pulls back up as the nurse walks in, after all, they don't need any kind of drama, and Jackson's there, rolling his eyes at the two of them in spectacular Jackson Whittemore fashion.

"Alright boys, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, but you can be in the family waiting room, alright?" The nurse smiles gently at him, and Isaac is pretty sure that Melissa, even though it's her day off, and she's spending it with her son, orchestrated all of this, so that it would be easy, so that Jackson and Isaac could be with Danny.

"Good luck, bro," Jackson says with a smile. "See you on the other side – and by the way, I WILL be filming the things that you say while you're high as shit on anesthesia."

"Of course." Danny rolls his eyes.

Isaac doesn't know what to say, so he sort of looks at Danny, biting his lip, smiling gently, and Danny just nods, because he knows. He knows that Isaac is telling him that it's okay to be scared, and that he's going to be fine, and that he'll see him soon.

They wheel Danny to the operating room while Jackson and Isaac head to the waiting room.

They sit there, not really talking to each other, because it's Jackson and Isaac, and they have never had that much to say to each other, and what they did have got said the other day in the dug out. Jackson is playing on his phone most of the time, sending texts, and doing god knows what, while Isaac paces back and forth.

Their saving grace comes in an unusual form about halfway through when Lydia walks into the door of the waiting room. She's holding a bouquet of tiger lilies, and she looks like a million bucks…but when does she ever not?

"Nice jeans," she says to Isaac, smiling at him, winking.

"Oh, thanks." He nods, because yeah, he wore the jeans she bought him today. For some reason, it just seemed right when he was getting dressed that morning.

"Lydia…" Jackson rises to his feet, and Isaac takes the hint immediately.

"I'm gonna go get coffee," he states. "Coffee? Coffee?" he points to Jackson, then Lydia. They both nod, and Isaac takes his leave.

"You came." Jackson looks at her, standing across the small room from him. He wants to move closer, but a part of him is afraid she'll run if he does.

"Of course I did," she states. "Danny's actually been here for me, you know, since you've been gone. We've been hanging out. I came here for him."

"I know." Jackson nods. "But…"

"But what, Jackson?" Lydia asks, looking at him, her expression serious, but not the same angry one she wore the other day.

"I didn't want to leave you, Lydia," he says softly. "My parents moved, I had to go with them. I couldn't stay here for you, I…"

"It's not that you left, Jackson. I understand that you had to leave, it's that you didn't say goodbye. You just…decided to go, and then you were gone, and after everything that happened, I thought we had-"

"I _couldn't_ say goodbye to you," Jackson stated. "You literally saved my life, just by loving me, and because I loved you. How do you say goodbye to someone like that? I wouldn't have been able to leave, but I didn't have a choice!"

"Jackson…" Lydia's expression softens, because she's not sure that she has ever, in her entire life, save for that night, the night where she brought him back from the darkest place he'd ever been, seen Jackson as vulnerable as he is right now.

"I love you," he says softly, moving towards her. "There's nobody else, there's never going to be anyone else, and maybe I'm in London right now, but I'm 18 soon, and I'm coming back, okay? I'm coming back, and I'm gonna prove to you that we're meant for each other, because I used to think fate and all of that was bullshit, and I still sort of do, but not with you, because-"

Jackson doesn't get to finish his sentence, his thought, because Lydia sets down the tiger lilies and moves to him, pulling him close, kissing him fiercely. She's been angry at him for so long, and a part of her wants to stay that way, but he's telling the truth, she knows he is, and some part of her knows that he's right, that what he's saying is true. They are meant to be together. Some people just are.

"I missed you," she whispers, resting her head on his chest when they pull away.

"I missed you, too." He pulls her down on the couch, his arm around her, kissing the top of her head. This feels right to him. This is Lydia, his person, the one who loved him, even when he was a monster, even though maybe sometimes he still is. She got deeper, she found the real Jackson, and he doesn't ever want to be without her again.

"I brought…" Isaac walks back in, balancing a Starbucks drink carrier in one hand, and a bag of pastry in the other. "Should I leave again?"

"No, no." Lydia pulls away from Jackson, wiping a couple of stray tears from her eyes, and pulling out a compact to fix any imperfections that may have occurred in her makeup in the past few minutes.

"Okay." Isaac nods, handing each of them a cup of coffee, and giving the bag of food to Lydia, so she can take what she wants, and then pass it on. "I got a bagel, a croissant, and some weird loaf cake thing?"

"Pound cake, Isaac," Lydia says with a smile, pulling it out and breaking it in half.

The conversation is easier, after that, with Lydia there to act as a barrier, and the second half of the waiting time flies by.

"Alright," the nurse comes back into the room, and all three of them stand instantly. "He's out of surgery, he did great. He's a bit loopy, but you guys can go in. He just woke up."

"Yes." Jackson fist pumps. "Loopy Danny is the best." He puts his arm around Lydia, and Isaac carries the tiger lilies, and they head up to Danny's room, every one of them smiling, because Danny is going to be just fine…just like they knew he would be.

**_A/N Okay, posting now because I have another busy week, and this might be the last chance I get...also March Madness ended last night, which always throws me into withdrawal (I know it's lame, and I'm really sorry for that, but I'm gonna be slumping for a couple weeks, which may or may not impact my writing energy!). I hope you liked this chapter. It seemed important to touch on what's going on while Isaac is having his procedure. That being said, I know that some of you are very concerned that Jackson is not feeling guilt for what he didn't do for Isaac growing up. I have said before that I do plan on touching on this HEAVILY, but right now, I feel that Jackson's primary concerns (at least the way that I'm writing him in this story) would be, first and foremost, for Danny, his best friend as he undergoes surgery to save his sister, and for Lydia, the woman he loves. I am really sorry if that reads ill for you, and I am getting to that part, it's just not the primary focus right now. I brought it up early because it is a touchy subject, for sure, and I wanted to get some opinions before making a final decision._**


	22. Chapter 22

When they get into the room, Danny's sitting up, looking at them with a slightly dazed expression on his face, and even Isaac has to admit, it's sort of funny.

In a goofy, adorable, Danny sort of way.

"Aw, you brought me flowers?" Danny's expression softens as he looks at Isaac, who is still holding the tiger lilies that Lydia brought.

"What? Oh, no, I-"

"Yes, he did." Lydia smiles, shooting Isaac a discreet wink.

"Yeah, I did." He holds out the flowers, smiling at Danny. He isn't sure where they are with that sort of thing, but Danny's totally out of it, and Lydia's nudging him, and he's just not in the mood to cause a scene right now. Besides, the look on Danny's face as he accepts them is priceless, and Isaac doesn't want to be the reason that expression goes away. Ever. It's too attractive.

"What's going on?" Danny asks, setting the flowers aside, looking between Jackson and Lydia. "I thought you hated him," he says to Lydia.

"Yeah, well…" Lydia bites her lip, because she's not sure that trying to explain this to Danny while he's a bit out of it as a good idea. "Turns out I was wrong."

"Yes!" Danny grins, pumping both his fists in the air. "Jydia is back together!" He looks at them for a second, and then starts to laugh his ass off. "Jydia," he mumbles, shaking his head, grin still wide. "Sounds like an STD."

Isaac snorts with laughter, and Jackson and Lydia, just look at Danny, slightly appalled. If anyone else had said that, Isaac is pretty sure there would be two death glares coming right at them, but it's not someone else, it's Danny, and not only that, it's high Danny, so he gets a free pass.

"How are you feeling?" Isaac asks, looking at Danny with concern.

"I feel awesome. So awesome. I feel like climbing a mountain." Danny nods matter-of-factly to prove his point, and Isaac grins.

"Well maybe it's best you don't do that just yet, okay?" he pats Danny's arm, and it's upsetting to him how much he wants to reach down and take Danny's hand. God, he was never supposed to be this far gone, but he cares so much about the man in that hospital bed, the one who's probably, definitely, the only person who's ever looked at him like that, like he's worth something more.

"Yeah…" Danny sighs. "I _guess_ I can save the mountain climbing for another time."

"Do you want anything?" Lydia asks, looking at him, smiling gently. "Food, something to drink…"

"Jell-o!" Danny looks at her, smiling.

"Really?" Jackson looks at Danny skeptically, but Danny just nods, and it's pretty clear to everyone in the room that whatever Danny is on to ease the pain is also making him want jell-o.

"We'll go get it for you," Lydia states, grabbing Jackson by the arm and dragging him out of the room.

It takes Isaac a second to process the fact that he and Danny are alone, but as soon as he does, he thinks that that was probably Lydia's plan all along. He doesn't understand what goes in that head of hers, but he knows that she's a genius, and when she has her mind set on something, well, she usually manages to make that happen. He isn't sure if she knows what's going on between him and Danny, he's pretty sure that Jackson hasn't told her, but Lydia is smart. If anyone is going to figure out that there's something there, it's Lydia Martin, and right now, Isaac is suspecting just that. That she has put two and two together, and that's why she insisted that the flowers were from Isaac…and that's why she dragged Jackson away just now.

"Hi." Danny looks up at Isaac, smiling at him.

"Hey yourself," Isaac says with a snort, because yeah, Jackson wasn't kidding. Loopy Danny is pretty great, though Isaac is pretty sure that what he sees in Loopy Danny and what Jackson sees in Loopy Danny are two very different things.

"You're beautiful," Danny says. He reaches up and runs his hand down Isaac's arm, looking at him.

"What?" Isaac is completely caught off guard. No one has ever told him that before in his entire life, and it's not the kind of thing that he ever thought he was going to hear.

"You're beautiful," Danny declares, shrugging his shoulders, as though it's the most obvious truth that he's ever spoken.

"Oh." Isaac blushes, reaching up and awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "I'm…I'm not…"

"No." Danny shakes his head. "Don't do that. Don't pussyfoot – ha. Pussyfoot. What a great term. Not the point, not the point don't sell yourself short, Isaac, you're beautiful. Like…Apollo, the green god beautiful, like…really, really fucking beautiful."

"Danny, you're high, just-"

"Isaac!" Danny's voice is raised, and it actually makes Isaac jump. He looks at Danny, startled, wondering what the hell he's going to say next. "I'm not kidding here. This isn't the drugs talking – I mean, it's the drugs that are keeping my filter from stopping me, but I mean it. You're beautiful. Like really, really epically beautiful, and the fact that you don't see that makes me kind of sad, but don't worry, I'm not gonna cry. I'm not _that_ fucked up on whatever this is." He gestures to his IV.

Isaac just looks at him. His eyes are angled down, looking right into Danny's, and he can't believe the words the other man just said. A part of him is sure that it's because Danny's high, that he's just saying things because he's off in his own little world – some made up world, where Isaac is beautiful to guys like Danny Mahealani.

"What?" Danny asks, because the way that Isaac's looking at him and not saying anything, it's very confusing for someone in his position.

"I just…I don't…" He shrugs, and a look of understanding washes across Danny's face.

"No one's ever told you you're gorgeous before," he whispers.

Isaac nods, and in seconds, Danny's reaching out, his hands on Isaac's arm, pulling him down.

"Danny, what are you doing?" Isaac asks.

"Just…come lie on the bed with me, it's okay."

Isaac opens his mouth to object, but why should he? It's just the two of them right now, and who else is going to come in? Lydia and Jackson? Jackson who already know, and Lydia, who, Isaac has guessing knows just as much.

Silently, he nods and slips onto the bed, shifting so that his body can fit there, with Danny. Neither of them are exactly small, so it's a bit of a tight fit, but they manage it, and Isaac has to admit, the proximity? It's definitely not bad. At all. Being close to Danny, he's started to learn, is never bad.

"Your legs are sooooo long," Danny muses, reaching out, touching Isaac's knee.

The contact sends a shudder up Isaac's spine, and he turns to look at Danny.

"Like a gazelle," Danny says with a grin.

Isaac snorts with laughter.

"Yeah, I guess so." He shrugs, because he's never really thought much about his own legs.

"I like them," Danny says, running his hand up and down Isaac's leg. It's not a sexual gesture, just Danny, getting a feel for Isaac's incredibly long leg.

"Thanks." Isaac's blushing again, and he's starting to think that until Danny sobers up a little, that blush is going to be a permanent fixture on his face.

Isaac isn't sure what to do here, right now. He wants to tell Danny that he's hot as hell, that if either of them is built like a greek god, it's definitely Danny, and not himself, but he doesn't want Danny to think that he's saying it just because Danny said it, and he's also worried about what they'll both think, feel, once the drugs have worn off.

"I like your eyes," Danny says, this time reaching up, his fingers going to Isaac's cheek. He strokes the smooth, milky skin gently, and Isaac leans into the touch.

It feels good, having someone praise him like this, touch him like that, look at him the way that Danny's looking at him, but he tries not to get too lost in it. He knows that this can't go on, he knows what he is, and that Danny's humanity makes them an impossibility, but it's so hard to pull away, so he doesn't. He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, holding in the moment, making a memory, so that when this is gone, he has something to hold onto, something to remember that will make him feel good enough about himself, make him feel deserving, even though he knows he's not.

When he opens his eyes, Danny is still looking at him, studying him, and the way he's looking? No one has ever looked at Isaac that way, as though he's something exquisite, and the feeling is overwhelming at the very least.

"I think I love you," Danny whispers, looking Isaac right in the eyes as he says the words.

Isaac's eyes widen, and he opens his mouth, closing it again seconds later as he realizes he has _no _idea what to say to that.

"Hey! Okay, so we have lime, cherry, watermelon, orange and…" Jackson bursts into the room, his arms laden with jell-o cups. "Grape? I think?"

"Awesome!" Danny turns to him, focusing on the treat, and Isaac moves off of the bed to make room.

He looks on, watching as Danny chooses watermelon jell-o.

It's been so long since he heard words like that, and his heart is breaking a little bit, because he knows that Danny doesn't mean them, that he's just high.

And even if he does mean them, well, he wouldn't if he knew who, and what, Isaac really is.

_**A/N Alright, dear readers! I hope that you enjoyed that, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I think it might actually be my favorite chapter so far (but that does NOT mean it has to be yours!) Thanks for sticking with the story, and have a great weekend! I hope you are all well, and enjoying yourselves.**_


	23. Chapter 23

Danny falls asleep after the jell-o, and the nurse insists that Isaac, Jackson, and Lydia go home, as Danny will be released to his family soon, and honestly, Isaac wants to be out of there. He feels weird, awkward, disjointed after the things that Danny said to him.

When Isaac walks in the door, Scott can instantly tell that something is wrong.

"Isaac?" Scott walks over to him, concern lining his features. "What happened? Was there a complication?"

"No, no." Isaac shakes his head. "Danny's fine, the procedure went great."

"Okay…" Scott bites his lip. "Then do you look like you just watched someone drop kick a puppy?"

"I'm fine," Isaac insists, trying to move past Scott to the room that he now considers to be his, even though he's not really sure that he'll ever have a place to call just his.

"No, you're not." Scott stops him, grabbing his arm gently, and turning Isaac back around to face him. "What's wrong, Isaac?"

"It's just…some stuff that Danny said," Isaac muttered. "When he was, you know, after the procedure, he was a little high on pain killers."

"Oh." Scott is confused, and he's wearing that confusion very evidently on his face. "Well…what did he say?"

"He said…" Isaac shifts, because he's not sure how to say it where it doesn't sound stupid. "He said that he thinks he loves me."

"What?" Scott's eyes instantly widen, and Isaac wishes he'd just made something up, something that would be enough of the truth for Scott to believe, but would not come with this sort of reaction, because he knows what conversation is coming, and he really, really doesn't want to have it.

"I don't know, Scott." Isaac sighs. "He was high, and he said that he thinks he loves me."

"And?" Scott presses. "What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything, Jackson and Lydia came back into the room right after, and then the nurse came in, and told us to leave, and…yeah." He shrugs.

"Well you have to think about you're going to say to him when you see him again, but Isaac…" he looks at Isaac. "Why do you look like this is such a bad thing?"

"Because," Isaac shrugs. "He doesn't love me."

"Yeah?" Scott asks.

"How do you know that?"

"Because." Isaac looks down at his shoes. "I just do."

"And if you're wrong? If he does love you?" Scott asks.

"He doesn't, so it doesn't matter. Scott, we're not dating, we're not a thing, we're just two guys who hang out, and sometimes we kiss, and-"

"And have feelings for one another. Isaac, you were at the hospital for his procedure. That's not…" Scott trails off, because he was on the verge of saying 'normal', but he doesn't want to scare Isaac. "That's not something people usually do if they just want to be friends."

"Jackson went," he states.

"That's different, Jackson and Danny are like brothers."

"Lydia went."

"And Lydia is Lydia, she does that sort of thing, but Isaac, you're you, and you _don't _do that sort of thing."

"Scott…"

"It's okay to have feelings for him, Isaac, and it's okay to be scared that he cares the same way." Scott smiles gently at Isaac. "If you're worried about the pack, about Ethan, if what you feel for him is real, and what he feels for you is, too, we'll figure it out, okay? Don't let that get in the way."

"It's not that," Isaac admits. "I mean, it is that, but it's not _just _that."

"Then what is it?" Scott asks.

"I don't…I don't know how to have feelings like that for someone, I don't know how to be with someone at all, let alone someone like Danny, who doesn't…who isn't…he doesn't know who I am, not really," Isaac says softly. "And when he does, if he finds out, that's it." He shakes his head. "It'll all be over. Why should I bother putting all of my eggs in a basket that's going to get knocked over at some point anyways?"

"Because," Scott states, looking right at Isaac. "What if it doesn't get knocked down?"

Isaac doesn't think that's a possibility. He knows the way that his life works, and it changes, yes, but it never actually gets much better. Sure, little things happen that are better, like he's not living with his dad anymore, he's got Scott and Melissa, but at the same time, being a werewolf has caused a lot of pain, and he's not really sure how to handle it most of the time.

Being with someone? He doesn't know how to do that, either. He doesn't realize that he's already doing it, that being there for Danny when he's needed, holding him at night, kissing him when they're alone – those are things that boyfriends do. He's just not able to accept that someone might actually care for him in that way, because he's never assumed that it was possible, and he still doesn't think that it is.

"I need to go lie down," Isaac says softly, and this time, Scott doesn't try to stop him.

Isaac goes to his room, and instantly slumps down on the bed, because he feels like shit. He feels low, and it doesn't even cross his mind that that's because he was conditioned to feel that way about himself, that time and energy was spent by his father, by the boys who used to tease him, to make sure that he knew he was less than, and that, at some point along the line, it started working, and he just started believing it.

That's why he could never believe that Danny meant the words that he had said but he doesn't know that. Isaac doesn't understand that he's not actually worthless, that he's just been manipulated to think that. He doesn't realize that he's not what his father tried to convince him that he was.

When Isaac looks at his grades, no matter what, he always sees "not good enough." When he looks at himself in the mirror, no matter how good he looks, he only sees "not good enough." When he thinks about how he is as a friend, with Danny, or anyone else, it's the same thing.

Isaac isn't good enough. He doesn't think that he ever could be, not for someone like Danny. Not for anyone at all.

Isaac Lahey isn't the sort of person that gets to be good enough, he isn't the sort of person that gets guys like Danny, that gets guys at all. No, Isaac Lahey is the sort of person that gets to spend the rest of his life alone.

It doesn't even occur to him, as he tosses around on the bed, not sleeping, that maybe there is a chance that Danny meant the words that he was saying, that maybe it wasn't just the alcohol talking. He doesn't see how that could be true, so he doesn't acknowledge it as an option.

At some point, in all of the trying not to think about what's happening, he manages to fall asleep, still fully dressed, and he stays that way, sprawled out on the bed, jeans, sneakers and all, for the rest of the night, waking only when his phone rings the next morning.

"Hello?" He answers blearily, not even bothering to check who is calling him.

"It's Jackson, get over to Danny's, everything's fine, but the pain pills are starting to wear off."

"Okay." Isaac gulps. He doesn't think he can come up with a reason not to go over, and if he doesn't go, what if Jackson overdoes it? He doesn't want that. He just nods, and pulls himself out of bed. "I'll be there in half an hour, and Jackson?"

"Yeah?"

"Go slow until I get there. Don't overdo it."

"Just get over here." Jackson hangs up, and Isaac groans.

He's not ready to face Danny, he's just not. He doesn't know if Danny will remember any of the things that he said, or if they will all have slipped away when he sobered up, but he's not ready to have that conversation with Danny, the one where Danny apologizes, where he says that he didn't mean anything he said when he was high.

Isaac wants to hang on to the words, even though he knows they're not true.

**_A/N Okay, so that chapter was a little...filler-y, but I think that Isaac's probably got a lot of conflicting thoughts and emotions right now, so I'm trying my best to deal with that, without losing the plot. :/ I hope I'm doing okay, as for you all, gah, like I said before, thanks so much for sticking with this oddball of a story. I love you all._**


	24. Chapter 24

When Isaac gets to Danny's house, the door opens before he even knocks, and Jackson pulls him inside.

"Okay," Jackson says softly. "He's feeling better, but I'm starting to get tired. His parents are with Maia, and I'm going to run out, get some food, if you can stay with him?"

"Yeah, yes, of course." He nods.

"Okay." Jackson smiles. "What do you want?"

"What do you mean?" Isaac asks.

"Food, Isaac, food." Jackson rolls his eyes.

"Oh, um…" Isaac shrugs. He's still not used to having a say in anything at all. "I didn't bring-"

"I'm buying," Jackson cuts in.

"Oh." Isaac nods. "Okay, um, thank you – just whatever you're having is fine. I'm not a picky eater. Growing up, Isaac didn't really have the chance to be a picky eater – it was eat the food that was put in front of him, or don't eat at all, and residually, he's still clinging to that. He'll eat anything.

"Okay." Jackson's out the door, and Danny slowly, nervously, heads up to Danny's room. He's nervous, unsure of what he's going to be told, unsure of what Danny's going to remember.

"Hey, Danny." Isaac smiles, trying to hide all of his nerves from the other man.

"Hey." Danny sits up a little as Isaac enters the room.

"How are you feeling?" Isaac moves to sit on the edge of the bed. He's gotten comfortable in Danny's room, comfortable with Danny, but now, it feels different. Danny pushed the edge of that comfort with what he said in the hospital, and Isaac isn't sure that Danny even remembers it.

"I'm feeling okay," Danny admits. "You know, kind of like someone stuck a massive needle in my back while I was asleep."

"Funny how that happens, huh?" Isaac smiles, because even in pain, Danny's joking around, and Isaac can't see this boy as anything other than strong.

"Thanks for coming over."

"Oh, of course. Jackson said your parents were out, and that he was going to get food, so…here I am."

"You know that I would be okay by myself for an hour, right?" Danny asks.

"Yeah," Isaac smiles. "But that doesn't mean that you should have to be."

"You're nice." Danny smiles at him, and Isaac just blushes, because he knows he's done some not so nice things, but Danny strikes him as someone worth being nice to, doing nice things for.

"I just want you to feel better."

Isaac reaches out and gently puts his hand on Danny's, making sure that Danny is looking at him, and not their hands, their arms, as he takes some of his pain away. Danny doesn't deserve to be in pain like this. All he's done is give up something to help his sister. That's not the kind of thing that should hurt physically as much as it does.

"How's Maia doing?" Isaac asks, looking down at Danny.

"Really, really well, actually." Danny beams as he thinks about it, some of the pain subsiding, though he's not sure why. Maybe it's just thinking about Maia being healthy again makes him feel better. "She didn't reject the bone marrow, so right now, it's working really well. It'll be awhile, of course, until we know for sure what's going on, but…so far, so good. The procedure could not have gone better."

"Danny, that's…I'm so happy to hear that." Isaac lets out a sigh of relief, and Danny looks up at him, head tilted to the side.

"You really care about her, don't you?"

"Yeah." Isaac shrugs. "She's a good kid, she doesn't deserve any of this, and, you know, neither do you."

"You're special, Isaac Lahey." Danny reaches up, pulling Isaac close to him, kissing him softly. "I want you to know that."

"I'm not." Isaac shakes his head. "I'm just…I just care about people worth caring about. I'm not special."

"Well," Danny shrugs. "I think you're special. You've given so much of your time and energy to me, to my sister, how is that not special?"

"Just the right thing to do," Isaac mutters. "Which reminds me."

He gets off the bed and goes over to his backpack. He pulls out a plastic bag filled with brightly colored cranes.

"There's 117 in here, I've been working on them."

"Yeah?" Danny smiles, taking the bag. "We're close."

"How many more do we need?"

"I think only about 30," Danny admits.

"Okay." Isaac nods. He's got more origami paper, he knows that as soon as Danny falls asleep, he'll start folding again. If they're so close, and maybe, just maybe, when they get that thousandth crane folded, they'll be able to wish Maia into remission.

It's a silly superstition, they both know that, but it's been giving them both something to hold on to, some hope that maybe there is something that they can do after all. They've folded 970 cranes, and Danny's given part of his _body_ to help the little girl. They've done all they can, now they just have to wait.

They fall into a silence, and for the first time in a long time, it's not exactly a comfortable one. Isaac isn't sure how Danny feels, but he's wondering if Danny remembers any of what he said yesterday, if any of the words that came out of his mouth are still in his mind, in his memory.

"You okay?" Danny asks after a few minutes.

"What?" Isaac turns to him, completely checked out, having missed the question.

"I asked if you were okay."

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Isaac asks.

"You just…it's like you're a million miles away," Danny says softly, reaching out and taking Isaac's hand, squeezing gently.

"Oh, just thinking about some…stuff."

"What stuff?"

"It's a long story," Isaac says immediately, because he definitely doesn't want to talk to Danny about it, not if he doesn't have to.

"We've got time, I mean, I do, at least." He gestures to the bed around him. "I have a couple more days of this, I'm pretty sure, so if you want to talk about it, go for it."

"I'm okay." Isaac shake his head, and Danny frowns.

"It's funny how that works, how we always talk about me, and what's wrong with me." Danny shifts, pulling Isaac down on the bed next to him. "I feel like you've gotten so close to me, we've gotten close, and you know all about me, you know everything, but you? I don't know anything about you." He frowns slightly. "I mean, I know that your mom died a few years ago, and then your brother, then your father, but you never talk about it, and I didn't want to push it…"

"There's nothing to say," Isaac says softly. "They're dead. I live with the McCall's, it's fine, it's…it's the way it is."

"Okay." Danny nods, gently rubbing Isaac's back. "You don't have to be ready to talk to me yet, it's okay, but Isaac, when you are?" He bites his lip. "When you decide that it's not all okay, and that you need someone to talk to, I'll be right here."

"Thank you." Isaac snuggles up against Danny, trying to be careful not to hurt him.

They lie there like that, more comfortable than before, because Isaac is now pretty confident that Danny has no memory of the things that he said, and Danny's offer? To be there for him? It's really kind, even though Isaac is pretty sure that he will never get used to it, not enough to talk to him about it.

When Danny falls asleep, Jackson's still not back, so Isaac goes to his backpack and gets the origami paper. He sets the finished cranes on Danny as he completes them, smiling as he does so.

He gets about 12 done before Jackson gets back and walks into the room.

"Hey, Da-"

Isaac reaches up, putting a finger to his lips, then gestures to sleeping Danny. He clears the cranes off of him and gets off the bed, walking with Jackson into the hallway.

"How long's he been sleeping?" Jackson asks.

"Maybe half an hour." He shrugs. "You took your time."

"Yeah." Jackson nods. "Well I detoured by Lydia's house. I knew that you were with Danny, and that nothing bad would happen to him. I don't know what it is about the two of you, but…"

"I care about him." Isaac shrugs. "And I wouldn't let him get hurt. He's the best of any of us, he doesn't deserve all of this crap that's raining down on him."

"For once, we agree on something." Jackson nods approvingly. "Come on, get something to eat while he sleeps. We'll save him some."

"Okay." Isaac follows Jackson into the kitchen, not sure how this whole situation has gotten him here. He's in Danny's house, about to have a civil lunch with Jackson Whittemore. It doesn't make sense to him, but it's for Danny, and for Danny, Isaac will do anything.

**_A/N Alright, still pulling Isaac and Danny closer together, want to get them to a point where they can be as open with each other as possible! I hope that you guys are enjoying this! Thanks so much for reading! The next chapter should see some of his demons unleashed to someone, though I'm not sure who yet! That will be nice, I think. Anyways, yes. Sorry that all the chapters are so short, but thanks for reading them all the same! Love you guys!_**


	25. Chapter 25

"I think I'm going to tell him," Jackson says quietly, looking up from his empty plate. "Not right away, definitely not today, but…before I leave."

"Oh." Isaac nods, not looking up from where he's pushing lo mein around on his plate. "Okay."

"Do you…is that not okay with you?" Jackson asks.

"No, it's…it's good, I think that he should know."

"But…" Jackson bites his lip. "You're afraid he won't look twice at you once he does."

Isaac doesn't say anything, he just shrugs, and Jackson thinks he understands.

For a while, it's silence. Jackson spoons more food onto his plate, while Isaac just continue to play with what's already on his.

"I think you're wrong," Jackson says finally, and Isaac looks up, brows furrowed in confusion.

"What?"

"I've known Danny since I was a little kid," Jackson continues. "We've been friends since we were 3 years old, and with everything…he stuck by me, even when I turned into an asshole, because who I was projecting myself to be wasn't nearly as important to him as who he knew I was on the inside. Danny has this ability to see right through people, to know that being an asshole was just my way of dealing with a bunch of other stuff that was going on, and I think he'll see it with you, too. That being a wolf, it's not…it doesn't erase the person that he's grown to care about."

Isaac doesn't know what to say. That's by far the deepest thing that Jackson has ever said to him, and he's not really sure how to take it. At all.

"He cares, Isaac," Jackson says softly. "As much as it may kill me to admit that he does, it's true, it's right there in the open. The way he looks at you, the way he talks about you…he's such a caring guy, and for that to be focused on you? And I can't even fault him for it, because you've been so kind to him. I haven't liked any of the guys Danny's been with, because none of them have ever been good enough. But you?" Jackson shrugs. "A few months ago, I'd have lumped you in with the rest of them – nowhere near good enough for him, but after what I've seen? What I've heard? I'm pretty sure I'd have been wrong."

"What?" Isaac looks up at Jackson, shocked.

"I think that you might be really good for Danny. Those other guys, it was selfish, they only wanted a couple things from him – his body, his popularity, to take advantage of his good nature, maybe his family's money, but you? You don't give a shit about any of that. You hold him while he sleeps, you wake up with him when he's uneasy, you sit at his sister's hospital bed and suck away her pain, even when it's hurting you, and then you turn right back around and do the same for him."

"Jackson," Isaac says softly. "Danny and I…we're not together."

"Really?" Jackson tilts his head to the side. "You had me fooled."

"What?"

"Oh come on, Lahey, seriously?" Jackson rolls his eyes. "You guys spend all of your free time together, you sleep in the same bed, you kiss, and you waited in the hospital for his entire procedure. Whether you've labeled it or not, I'm pretty sure that you and Danny are most definitely together."

"Well does Danny know that?" Isaac scoffs.

"Yeah." Jackson nods. "I'm pretty sure he does."

Isaac doesn't say anything else. He doesn't know what there is to say, because no matter what Jackson says, no matter what Isaac says, or even what Danny says, Isaac is stuck so far in his own head that he can't even sort of see how someone else might care about him like that. It's taken so long for him to get used to the fact that Melissa and Scott care about him, he can't even fathom that someone like Danny might choose him romantically out of everyone that's there.

"Are…are you okay here? Do you have this covered?" Isaac asks, looking up at Jackson.

"What do you man?" Jackson asks.

"His pain. Can you…can you handle his pain for a little while?"

"Are you leaving?"

"Yeah." Isaac nods. He doesn't think that he can be here, not right now. "You've given me a lot to think about, and I really want to process it."

"Oh." Jackson nods. "Yeah, okay. I'll…I'll call you if I need you, though."

"Yeah, that's fair." Isaac nods and stands up, washing his own dish before he leaves.

He starts off walking home, but he finds himself, instead, gravitating towards the hospital, where he walks to the nurses station. Luckily, Melissa is already there, and he doesn't have to wait long.

"Isaac?" She frowns. "What are you doing here? Is everything okay? It doesn't look like everything is okay."

"Yeah, I'm…I just…" He shifts, looking up at her. "I…I think I need some motherly advice."

"Oh…oh my god, of course!" Melissa nods. "Hey, I'm going on break," she calls out to her other nurses, and they all seem to agree.

She comes out from behind the station, and grabs Isaac by the arm, pulling him to the break room. Luckily, it's empty, and she sits Isaac down at the little round table.

"Do you want a cup of coffee?" She asks.

"No, no." He shakes his head. "I…god, you're gonna think I'm so stupid, but I don't know…I don't understand how this works…I…"

Melissa doesn't interrupt. She doesn't rush him or hurry him, she just sits there, a cup of coffee in her hand, smiling at him, because she's waited for this. Isaac has been living in their house for months, and the closest they've come to actually having a conversation like this was when he was sick. She knows, though, that it's hard for him, that he's not had family he can turn to in a really long time, and she's just glad that he's opening up to her.

"There's a boy," he says finally, looking up at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to disappoint you, I really didn't, but I can't…I tried, I tried hard, okay? I promise. I wanted to be into girls, I did, but I-"

"Whoa, whoa, Isaac, Isaac, honey." Melissa cuts him off, reaching out, covering his hands with her own, smiling gently at him. "I'm not disappointed that you like a boy. I'm just sorry that you thought I would be."

"O-oh." Isaac nods. "You're…wait, you're not?"

"No, honey, of course not. If you're gay, or bi, or whatever you are, that's fine, sweetheart."

"Oh." Isaac takes a deep breath, suddenly feeling much better. "It's…it's Danny."

"Well of course it is." Melissa smiles at him.

"You…you knew?"

"I suspected." She nods. "You've been spending an awful lot of time with him, and while there's definitely friendship where that's alright, and even normal – re Stiles and my son, it's not really like you, from what I've seen so far."

"Oh." He nods. "Okay, well the thing is, I…people have told me, a couple of people, that he likes me, and…this all sounds so stupid. God." He sighs.

"Isaac, honey," Melissa looks at Isaac, shaking her head. "It's not stupid, okay? If you have something to say to me, you are more than welcome to say it." She smiles gently. "You're a teenage boy, Isaac. You may have some crazy abilities that I will never understand, and you may have a horrible past that I will never be able to empathize with, thank god, but I was a teenager once, and I've had those crushes that you're unsure about."

"Thank you." Isaac looks at Melissa, nothing but utmost respect and care in his eyes, because this woman – she treats him the way he's sure his mother would if she were still alive, and while that's hard for him, because he wishes he knew his mother, that she were still here, it's nice to finally live under a roof where someone cares for him again.

"You're welcome, Isaac. Now, continue."

"Okay." He bites his lip. "He…when he was on pain killers, after the procedure…he told me that I was beautiful, and that he thinks he loves me, but…he was high as shit, and I just don't think that I could ever believe that someone like him would – _could _– feel that way about me."

"Oh, Isaac, honey…" Melissa looks at Isaac sadly. "First off, when people are under the influence like that, they tend to be the most honest, and second…is it really that hard for you to believe that someone like Danny could love you?"

Isaac looks down. He's embarrassed of his past, of what it did to him, of who it turned him into, but at the same time, he can't help it. He can't help that his father hammered worthlessness into every fiber of his being, that his father set him up not to believe that no one could ever love him – because if your own father doesn't love you, who else possibly could?

"Isaac," Melissa looks over at him. "You're a young, caring, compassionate man. That's the part of you that Danny has seen, and with those adorable blue eyes and blonde curls, frankly, I don't know how he could resist."

"You…you really think so?" Isaac asks, biting his lip.

"I do." She nods. "I also think that this conversation is one you need to be having with him."

"Right." Isaac shifts. "About that…"

"I know that sort of thing is never easy to talk about, but if he cares about you, and you care about him, why should you shy away from that? It could be really, really good for you."

"I just…" Isaac sighs. "I don't…I don't know if I could ever get comfortable with him, you know? I'll always feel like I'm not good enough."

"Oh honey," Melissa shakes her head. "I know it's hard, but please, try never to think you're not good enough for someone. You're always good enough, Isaac. I don't raise boys who are sub-par, do you hear me?"

She fixes him with a stare that could turn a man to stone, and Isaac's lips quirk into a smile.

"Yes, ma'am." He nods.

"Alright." She smiles back at him, dropping the façade. "And hey, if things don't work with him, just remember, you can always come home to me and Scott, and we will always love you."

"What?" Isaac looks up at her, shocked.

"Don't be so surprised, kid." Melissa rolls her eyes. "You're family."

Isaac can't help himself. He stands up and launches himself at her, hugging her tightly. It's been a long time since he had a family that he trusts, that he knows cares about him, and Melissa? She's making him feel truly loved and cared for, and for the first time in his life, he's able to believe that someone might actually love him. He hasn't felt this since his mother died, and right now, hugging Melissa, it honestly feels like he's hugging his mom.

It feels good.

**_A/N Okay I know that I RARELY post twice this quickly, but I finished this chapter and I really wanted to post it, because I LOVE writing the relationship between Isaac and Melissa. It might be like a week before the next update, and I probably should have spread it out, but...I was excited, so I'm posting it. Hope that's okay! _**


	26. Chapter 26

Isaac goes to school on Monday, but the words his teachers are saying aren't getting through to him. He's got so many words floating around in his head, the words from Melissa, from Jackson, and yes, of course the words that Danny said to him in the hospital. He wants to shake them, but he can't. There's something hanging over his head about all of them, and he's nervous, and scared, but Melissa? She helped him.

Of course he doesn't automatically feel worthy – one conversation, one person telling him that they really care, can't discount years of his father filling his head with worthlessness, but it helped him.

When he goes to Danny's after school, he's practically shaking in his boots, but he's excited. He wants to see his friend, and he wants to know what's going on with Maia.

He's not at all surprised when Jackson answers the door – he's been staying with the Mahealani's, and looking after Danny while they monitor Maia at the hospital. Isaac thinks maybe he misread Jackson, that he's not an asshole all of the time, he just only cares about a few people, and Danny is very clearly one of those people.

"Hey," Jackson says, letting Isaac in.

"Hey, how is he today?"

"A lot better. He's been eating a good amount, and he's not in as much pain, the meds from the hospital are dealing with a lot of it."

"Good, good." Isaac nods.

"Alright, well right now he's in bed watching TV, so you can go on up." Jackson nods, staying where he is, because he knows that this is between Isaac and Danny. There's something there, and he doesn't want to get in the way of it. He thinks, despite his better judgment, that they'd be good for each other. He wants Danny to be happy, with someone who won't hurt him, and Isaac? He's not going to hurt him like the other guys have.

"Thanks."

Isaac heads upstairs and knocks on the door, even though it's already slightly ajar.

"Come in!" Danny calls, turning off the television.

"Hey," Isaac says with a smile, coming in.

Danny's face lights up, his dimples all over the place.

"Hey, you," he says, his voice soft, and something inside of Isaac goes fucking crazy for that tone, for those words, said to him.

"Hey yourself," Isaac says, trying not to blush.

"See, you already said that," Danny teases.

"Right, right." Isaac rolls his eyes. "Here, I brought these." He takes a few more cranes out of his backpack, handing them to Danny.

"Jackson and I folded some, too." Danny lifts his own bag. "I think that pushes us to 1000."

"Oh my god!" Isaac's eyes widen. "We did it!"

"Yeah." He nods. "We did. Maia will be so excited."

"How's she doing?" Isaac asks, as he always does.

"Still good, everything's still going well. She's actually…she's gonna come home tomorrow."

"Really?" Isaac's smile is wide, even though it's not his sister – that's just…suck good news. "You should ask your parents to bring home the rest of the cranes from the hospital tonight. We can decorate her room with them."

"Oh, Isaac…" Danny looks at him, tilting his head to the side. "She'd love that."

"Yeah?" Isaac grins. "Well Jackson will help, and I can stay here tonight, I can help, too…I mean, I Don't have to stay the night, I can leave after, I-"

"Isaac," Danny reaches out, taking Isaac's hand. "Stay. Please. I want you here. I…I like it when you're here."

"But Jackson-"

"Jackson doesn't cuddle up with me at night." Danny smiles at him. "Jackson is my best friend, you're…" Danny trails off, because what the hell is Isaac? They share a bed, they curl up together, they kiss, Isaac is always there when Danny needs him, but they don't have any sort of label.

"Okay." Isaac nods, because it doesn't need saying, and he leans in, kissing Danny.

He's missed those lips, and it drives him crazy that he's gotten used to it. He always promised himself he'd never get used to something like this, but he's fallen into it, and now kissing Danny feels as natural as taking Melissa dinner at work, a responsibility that he and Scott now share. He has a brother, he has a maternal figure, and he has Danny.

God, how his life has changed in the last few months.

Danny's fingers tangle in Isaac's hair, and when they pull away from the kiss, those fingers are still there. Danny smiles at him, looking at him like he's something special, and Isaac can't help himself.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Isaac asks, his voice soft, quiet.

"Because," Danny says gently. "You're just…you're not like anyone I've ever met, and I can't believe you're in my life. You're so special, Isaac." Danny's hand moves down to caress Isaac's cheek.

"Danny…"

"No, let me talk."

Isaac shuts up, letting Danny say whatever it is he has to say.

"I've been waiting, because Maia…but she's doing better now, and I just want you to know that when she's home, when things go back to normal, because it's really seeming like they're going to, I still want you to be here."

"What?" Isaac gulps.

Since he's started hanging out with Danny, he's been sure that it would all end when Maia got better, even with whatever it is they've become, but now Danny's saying he wants the opposite of that.

"I really, really care about you, Isaac. I feel like an idiot for not seeing it sooner, for not seeing _you_ sooner. You were barely a blip on my radar for so long, and now you're this…this forceful presence in my life, and if you were gone, there'd be a void, and I don't…I don't want that."

Isaac doesn't know what to say, doesn't know how to respond to that, because honestly, he's not all that sure what it means. He doesn't know how to react to it, doesn't know what to say, he's not even sure what to think, so he just sits there, looking at Danny, his expression unreadable.

"Okay…please say something," Danny says, sounding as nervous as Isaac feels. "Because I just majorly opened up here, and you're being basically silent."

"I just…" Isaac shrugs.

"Oh god." Danny's eyes widen. "God, you don't feel the same at all, I'm so sorry, Isaac, I didn't mean to, I didn't want to make this weird, god, I'm so sorry, I-"

"No, it's not that, it's…" Isaac shifts. "I don't…I'm not…" He doesn't want to open up, to tell Danny all of his issues and his insecurities, because god, that will definitely scare him off, and he doesn't want that. He's between a rock and a hard place here, and Danny's huge brown eyes are making it really difficult to focus right now.

"Isaac, it's okay. You don't have to be anything, I mean…" Danny shrugs. "I didn't mean to pressure you, I just…I want you to know that I care about you. That's all."

Danny's heard the whispers in the hallway, he's heard things about Isaac, and he doesn't know what's true and what's fiction, but he knows enough to know that Isaac has not had it easy. He doesn't want to make things worse.

"I think," Isaac says softly, choosing his words. "That there are some things you need to know about me before we can…before I can…" he trails off, shaking his head. "I really like you, Danny, I really, really like you, I-"

Isaac stops himself, because he's never really let himself admit that, and to say it out loud? It's kind of jarring.

"I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you – and I mean, I don't…I haven't really spent much time with people that I'm attracted to, so I guess I don't have a large pool of options, but I just…this is weird for me, it's new, and it's kind of-"

"Scary?" Danny cuts in.

"Yeah." Isaac nods.

"I remember my first intense crush." Danny smiles. "God, was years ago now, and it's probably nothing like what you're feeling, but…I can relate. It's confusing the first time around, and we did things in sort of a backwards way."

"I just think there are things you need to know about me first," Isaac says softly.

"Okay." Danny nods. "Well, I'm listening."

"I-"

Isaac's just about to say more, though he has no idea where to start, or what to say, when Jackson bursts into the room.

"Isaac, hallway. Now."

There's something in his eyes – maybe anger, and Isaac instantly knows that Jackson's been listening to their conversation. A part of him feels violated, but another part of him feels saved, like Jackson just rescued him from a conversation that he wasn't ready to have.

He nods silently, and gets up, following Jackson in the hallway, and away from Danny, out of earshot.

"What the hell are you thinking?" Jackson hisses, his voice a low whisper. "You were going to tell him!"

"I…I wasn't…I mean, I hadn't really figured out what I was going to say," Isaac admitted.

"I really think I need to be the one to tell him," Jackson says. "We've been friends forever, and I just…I just think that he needs to hear it from me. I thought you were cool with that."

"No, I am, I just…" Isaac shifts. "Jackson, I really like him."

"I know."

"And things with him and Ethan didn't work out _because_ Ethan had the same secret that you and I have."

"And you don't want to put him or yourself through that," Jackson nods. "I get it. But I just don't think that now is the right time."

"I know, I think you're right. I mean, soon, but not…not today, it just…I felt trapped, Jackson."

"I know." Jackson nods. "Look, go back in there, and tell him that you really care about him, but you have some things he needs to know about, but you need more time to sort of…figure out how to say it. He'll respect your honesty, as well as your intent to tell him the truth."

"Yeah?" Isaac bites his lip.

"Yeah." Jackson nods. "And I'll tell him, okay?" He puts his hand on Isaac's shoulder, and it's almost comforting, something that shocks them both. "In the next 48 hours."

"Okay." Isaac nods. "Thank you, Jackson."

"You're welcome, Lahey." Jackson smiles gently. "Now get back in there."

"Okay."

Isaac goes back to Danny's room, biting his lip.

"Hey." He looks at Danny. "Look, I said…I said that there is stuff that you need to know about me, and…what I'm about to ask you is totally…I don't deserve what I'm asking for, but…I don't know how to say what I need to say, and I would like a couple of days to form my thoughts? I want you to know, I want to be honest with you, because I really do care about you, Danny. I just…I need a little more time. Like, a week. Tops."

"Okay." Danny smiles gently at him. "I can give you that, if it's what you need to be honest with me. I don't like secrets, and I don't like lies, so I really appreciate you taking the time to figure out how to say what it is you need to say. I would hate to force something out of you that's tough for you to say."

"I…thank you." Isaac lowers his head, unable to look at Danny right now. "Can…can I still help you decorate Maia's room?"

"Of course." Danny smiles. "I want you to stay over still, too. I can wait a week, Isaac, I really can. Something tells me you're worth the wait."

"I…I don't know about that," Isaac mutters.

"Well, I do."

Isaac just smiles gently and looks up at Danny, walking over to the bed and kissing him.

"Thank you."

"Any time."

Danny puts his arm around Isaac, and they lie like that, not saying anything, not sleeping, just being with each other, because it's what they're best at, and it's what they both need. It's comfortable, and Isaac's nervous as hell about what's coming, but at least right now, he's content.

**_A/N Okay...I know I said there wouldn't be any more updates the rest of the week, but I've just had CRAZY drive to write lately (don't know if it's all the support i'm getting, or just an overloaded writing muse after being really sick). Either way, thanks so much for reading! You guys are the bomb! On a slightly different note - I wanted to create a playlist for this story, so if you guys have any song ideas that you think would be good for it, that would be great! I listen to music while I write, and it would help a lot to have a playlist tailored to the stories I'm writing specifically! Thanks again, and I hope that you guys are liking the way the relationship is shaping up!_**

**_That was a really long Author's Note. I'm sorry! Thanks guys! Love you all!_**


	27. Chapter 27

Danny's dad brings the cranes by later that night, and Jackson, Lydia, Danny, and Isaac spend hours decorating Maia's bedroom.

The put the cranes on the shelves, they put them on the bed, on the bed posts, on the walls, they even manage to hang a bunch from the ceiling. When they're done, the room is plastered with them, and it's not even all of them – there just wasn't room for 1000 cranes. The remaining creations sit on a basket at the foot of Maia's bed.

It's not a surprise fully, because she knows about them, but Danny is hoping to god that it will be a good omen, that the cranes surrounding her will, somehow, help to bring her to health, to peace. He needs his bone marrow to be enough, because it was their last chance, and Jackson and Danny? They want the same thing.

When they finish, it's almost 4 in the morning, and they're all exhausted.

Jackson makes his way to the guest room with Lydia, and Danny and Isaac fall into bed next to each other, still fully clothed, both asleep before their heads even hit the pillows.

Isaac wakes first to the sound of a car pulling into the garage.

"Danny," he shakes the young man sleeping beside him. "Danny, I think they're home."

And Danny's awake like he's had 12 cups of coffee, and that kind of caring, passion for his little sister, brings Isaac to a smile.

"I should go," Isaac states, looking around for his shoes. This is a family event, and he didn't mean to stay this late, but they were up late, so they slept late.

"Don't." Danny turns, grabbing Isaac's hand and looking at him. "Isaac, you've gotten me through this. You've helped Maia, you've helped my parents by helping me and my sister…I want you here, and I know Maia will, too. Besides, I want you to see her face when she sees her room. The cranes were your idea."

"I…are you sure?" Isaac asks.

"100% percent." Danny smiles, and Isaac knows it's okay. Danny wouldn't ask him to be here if he didn't want him, right?

"Okay." Isaac nods.

"Come on." Danny grins. "Let's go hide in her closet."

"Okay." Isaac smiles this time, and follows Danny into the closet.

"Danny?" Maia calls out, and Danny melts.

Isaac can see it on his face, and he realizes that he has no idea how long it's been since Danny heard his sister's voice in their house. He reaches out and takes Danny's hand, squeezing it gently.

"Danny!" She calls again, but the boys stay quiet, in the closet.

"Why don't you go to your room, sweetie? Danny might still be sleeping," Mrs. Mahealani states.

"Okay." Maia sounds disappointed as they come down the hall, and it's almost enough to make both boys come out of the closet early, but they don't, they hold their ground, wait until they hear the door knob turning, and leap from the closet.

"WELCOME HOME!" They yell together.

There aren't words to describe the way that Maia's face lights up – at the room, at the sight of Danny and Isaac there to welcome her.

"Come here." Danny moves to Maia, lifting her, holding her close to his chest, kissing the top of her head.

It's tender, the whole interaction, and Isaac just watches, wondering how he got lucky enough for a guy like Danny to care about him at all, let alone as much as he claims to.

"Isaac!" Maia smiles, and reaches for Isaac.

Surprised, Isaac looks to Danny for a cue, and Danny just nods, holding Maia out.

Isaac pulls the small girl into a hug, seeping away some of the minimal pain that she's in as he does so. She seems to be feeling a lot better, and he's so, so glad.

"Welcome home, Maia," Isaac says softly.

They talk, for hours, about everything. They talk about the cranes, and about dinosaurs, and dragons, and princesses, and when Mr. and Mrs. Mahealani bring food up, they sit on the floor and eat it picnic style.

Isaac feels welcome, and cared for, both by Maia and Danny, and even their parents, really, who tell him in passing throughout the day how much they appreciate how much he's been there for their children. Isaac doesn't really think he's done that much – spending time with Maia was always a joy, and spending time with Danny? Yeah, that's no real hardship. At all.

Then again, they don't know that he's making out with their son pretty much every chance he gets.

They don't know that he's a werewolf that could break his son's heart just as easily as he helped to take away his pain.

God, he's not sure that there's anywhere good that this can go from here, but right now, he feels so high that he doesn't even let his own fears bring him down.

"So this is what it looks like," Danny says, smiling at Isaac when Maia falls asleep, too exhausted to keep her eyes open anymore.

"What what looks like?" Isaac asks, confused.

"You happy. Like, genuinely happy."

"What?"

"You've always got this air about you, like you're almost there, but not quite. You're not a happy guy, Isaac. I can tell. I'm not asking you tell me all your secrets right now, I know you asked for time and I'm totally giving that to you, it's just…it's nice to see you smiling."

"I smile plenty."

"No." Danny shakes his head. "Not like this. This smile? It's all out there. I've never seen you smile like this before."

Isaac smiles, and lightly head butts Danny in the shoulder. Danny's arm goes around Isaac's shoulder, and they walk back to Danny's room like that, close. It's almost couple-y.

Screw it.

It's completely couple-y.

"I should get home," Isaac admits. "Let you be with your family, give Scott a little face time, see if Melissa needs anything."

"Okay." Danny nods. "Thanks for everything."

"Of course, it was nothing, it's…it's Maia." Isaac shrugs. "You don't need me telling you how special she is."

"You can say that again. Still," Danny takes Isaac's hand. "It really means a lot to me, you caring about her like that. I'm not sure there's any quicker way to my heart than being good to my sister."

"Well I'll keep that in mind," Isaac says, he laughs, and so does Danny, because they both know that Isaac's already gone above and beyond for Maia. Maybe Danny doesn't know the extent of it, doesn't know that Isaac's made himself physically ill for the little girl, but he knows that Isaac's gone out of his way, and that it's not just to get at him through his sister. There's a genuine nature to Isaac's expression when he talks about Maia, and Danny can tell that there's no game here. That Isaac genuinely cares.

"You do that." Danny leans in, pulling Isaac into a deep kiss.

Isaac lets himself be reeled in by Danny's lips, his hands, the magnetic force of his body. Danny's hand rests on Isaac's cheek, his other hand still holding Isaac's hand, and Isaac moves his free hand to Danny's waist.

It's not a lustful, aggressive kiss driven be desire. It's long, slow, drawn out, amazing. It's driven by the feelings that they have for each other, by the intense bond that neither really knows how to combat, the drive that they have both stopped trying to combat at long last.

"Okay." Isaac smiles when they finally pull away. "I'll…I'll talk to you soon?"

"Absolutely." Danny nods. "Have fun with Scott, and remember, don't feel rushed in talking to me, okay?" Danny moves his hand from holding Isaac's to rest on Isaac's bicep. It's an oddly reassuring touch, and Isaac finds himself grinning because of it.

"Thanks, Danny. I promise, a week tops."

"Okay." Danny nods again, and they separate, all touches, as electric as they might be, cease to exist.

Isaac heads for the door and starts home. He doesn't mind the walk – it's turned into a nice evening. He runs into Jackson, who's returning from Lydia's as Isaac's leaving.

"Tomorrow," is all that Jackson says as they pass each other, and Isaac just nods.

He knows what that means. He knows that tomorrow, Jackson is going to have the conversation with Danny that is going to make or break what they have together.

As good as he feels because of Danny, right now, he's scared shitless that what they have is all about to come crashing down around him. He didn't want to get attached for just this reason, but he did. He is. Isaac is attached, hell, he's halfway to love – he might even be _in_ love, but he won't admit it, can't say it, because Isaac isn't even really sure that he knows what love is. All that he knows is he doesn't want to lose Danny, and right now, he's scared that he's about to.

**_A/N And the posting streak continues! Thank you guys for all of your comments and song suggestions! They were awesome! This chapter is more or less filler, but I think that you can all tell what's coming next...;) I hope that you continue to enjoy the story! I'm still going strong with the plot, and there are several more things that I still want to happen, so I hope that you stick with me! Over all, it should be close to 50K! Love you all, have a great day!_**


	28. Chapter 28

"Hey, Danny." Jackson knocks lightly on Danny's door, but enters before he's been asked in, in typical Jackson Whittemore fashion.

He's been waiting all day to get Danny alone, but with Maia just having come home, and Mr. and Mrs. Mahealani actually coming home, it's been hard. Jackson wants everyone out of the house for this, because he doesn't know what's going to happen, and he doesn't want Maia, or Danny's parents to be dragged into it. The conversation that he's about to have with Danny is between the two of them, and no one else.

"Hey." Danny smiles. "What's up, man? I was just about to call you, see if you were gonna spend all your time with your lady, or if I was gonna get some of it."

"Asshole," Jackson says good naturedly, moving to sit on Danny's bed with him.

Danny puts down the book he's been reading – trying to keep current on his school work, after all, and gives Jackson his full attention.

"You look sick." Danny frowns. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Jackson nods. "There's just…something that I want to talk to you about – well, something I need to tell you, and it's not…it's not exactly easy to say."

"Jesus Christ, what is it with everyone having all of these hard to say secrets all of a sudden?"

"It's…" Jackson shrugs, because he doesn't want to straight up tell Danny that the secret that he has is actually the same secret that Isaac has. He doesn't think that's at all the right way to start out this conversation. "Danny, this isn't a new secret. I've been keeping this from you since…since I moved away. I think the only reason I got away with it for as long as I did is the distance, and you've been busy."

"Jackson, you're scaring me," Danny says, looking at his best friend, worry on his face. "My sister is finally getting better, please…please don't tell me that something's wrong with you, too."

"It's not that, it's just…Danny, I'm…" Jackson stops. "God, there is no good way to say this. At all. You're going to think I'm fucking with you, but I swear to god, I'm not. Danny, I'm…I'm a werewolf."

Jackson studies Danny's face, waiting for Danny to laugh at him, or punch him in the shoulder and say "nice one," but he doesn't. Instead, Danny smiles gently at Jackson, and nods.

"Thank you for telling me."

"Wait, what?" Jackson frowns.

"This…I…" Danny shrugs. "I figured it out awhile ago, I guess. Did you think you were the only one that noticed that Scott suddenly had super human strength, and started acting weird? I wanted to talk to you about it, but you were always busy, and I didn't know what the hell was wrong with you, and then…well, Stiles and Scott really don't know how to whisper, and with research, and eavesdropping…I figured most of it out."

"So…you knew? Why didn't you tell me!" Jackson looks a little mad, honestly, and Danny's not sure that he can blame him.

"I wanted you to trust me enough to tell me. I didn't want you to feel backed into a corner, like I was somehow threatening your secret. I've kept it for over a year, Jackson. I'm not going to tell."

"But you knew?" Jackson looks at Danny, still clearly in disbelief.

"Yes." Danny nods.

"And you know it's not just me and Scott, right? You know about…"

"Okay, here's what I know. Scott, Isaac, Ethan, Aiden, and Derek Hale, and his sister Cora – all werewolves. Lydia is a banshee, and before you were a werewolf, you were…some sort of lizard thing, and by the way, you poisoned me in the Jungle, but I forgive you." Danny smiles gently. "And Allison is a hunter, but a friendly one."

"Damn." Jackson lets out a low whistle. "So you know…"

"Pretty much everything." He nods.

"So wait, you knew about Ethan, and you still broke up because he was keeping things from you?" Jackson asks.

"I wanted the same thing from him that I wanted from you. I wanted him to trust me. I even hinted at it, tried to bring it up. He made it pretty clear that he was ever going to tell me, that he didn't have that ability to trust that I needed him to have. It was never going to work."

"And you…you know that Isaac is a werewolf."

"I do." Danny nods.

"And that's…okay with you?"

"Initially, no." Danny shakes his head. "It wasn't. I didn't want to get close to him, because I knew what he was, and it scared me, but…it's a part of him, and he is on the verge of telling me. He trusts me. He wants me to know, because he wants me, Jackson, for who I am, and I want him. For who he is."

"Wolf and all?" Jackson asks.

"Wolf and all." Danny nods. "He was about to tell me, the other day, when you pulled him out just in time."

"Yeah." Jackson nods. "He was."

"Do you think I'm making a mistake?" Danny asks, looking at Jackson.

"With Isaac?" Jackson asks.

"Yeah. Do you think…I mean, do you think I was right to initially want to stay clear of, you know, dating werewolves?"

"I think…" Jackson pauses, deciding to actually think this through, to choose his words carefully. He's still in shock over what happened, over what Danny said – that he's fucking known all along. It's making him crazy, really, thinking that he could have been totally honest with Danny all of this time, if he were just…less of a coward.

And that's when it hits him. Isaac is braver than he is. Isaac was ready to put it all out there, and after only a few months of really knowing Danny.

Fuck.

"I think that there are certain dangers that come with dating a werewolf," Jackson says slowly. "It puts you with someone who has a lot more physical power than you do, someone who, on occasion, is being chased, but Isaac…" Jackson looks at Danny. "He wouldn't use that power to hurt you. I don't know him as well as I should, maybe, considering we're pack, but I can read him like a book, I can smell his emotions, I can smell his choices, and I know that he would never hurt you, Danny...here."

Jackson takes Danny's hand. He can feel it – just a little pain, residual from the procedure, and he takes it. His veins run black with it, and Danny's eyes widen.

"Jackson, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm taking away your pain. That's…something you may not have known about. Werewolves, they can take pain. We can't cure people, we can't make them healthy, but we can curb the suffering. That's what Isaac was doing at the hospital with Maia, that's what he was doing with you after the procedure, and the day he got sick at the hospital? That was because he took more pain from Maia than he could physically handle."

"Oh my god." Danny's heart is racing, and he looks at Jackson. "You're right, I didn't know that, Jackson…"

"Does this answer your question?" Jackson asks, letting go of Danny's hand.

"Yes." Danny nods, because it does. Jackson has just shown him everything he needs to know to be sure that his faith in Isaac isn't misplaced. Isaac isn't going to hurt him. Isaac, werewolf and all, is good. He has this beast inside of him, and he uses it for good.

He used it to save Maia.

"Good." Jackson smiles. "I'm glad you'll finally be with someone that will take care of you the way that you deserve."

"Yeah, he's not…not like the others."

"You can say that again." Jackson laughs, and he doesn't understand _why_ this is easy, but it is.

"So," Danny winks at Jackson. "Is the sex incredible with all werewolves, or was Ethan just gifted in that department."

"Oh my god. No. Do NOT give me that mental image. Ever again." Jackson shudders, and Danny's laughing his ass off.

He expects that if he stays with Isaac long enough, like he hopes to, he'll find that out for himself, and he doesn't need Jackson's answer.

"Your heart is beating out of control," Jackson states.

"Yeah." Danny nods. "I know."

"Isaac?"

"Yeah."

"Get dressed." Jackson hops off the bed. "School will be letting out in just a couple of minutes, if we time it right, we should be able to get him before lacrosse starts."

"Thanks." Danny smiles, and as he gets dressed, his heart is still racing, because everything he thought he knew about Isaac Lahey has changed.

It's gotten better.

**_A/N Alright, so I got a lot of comments and messages and whatnot from people with different views on how this scene should go down. Ultimately, I went with what seemed the best to me, and what I wanted. I"m really sorry to those of you who wanted Danny having to accept the whole thing, and deal with it, but there has been so much of the back and forth, and I wanted to give the poor kids a damn shot. Don't worry, this isn't going to be the end, there are still some things that I want to touch on! Thank you for reading this far, and I hope that you read on! _**


	29. Chapter 29

_**A/N This is the first chapter to have a dedication, and it's dedicated to my friend, Cade. :) She knows what she did.**_

Danny isn't as fast at getting ready as he usually is, thanks to still being in mild pain, but he manages, though by the time they get to the school, practice has, indeed, started.

"I'll just talk to him after, it's fine," Danny says with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Alright." Jackson nods. "We can sit on the bleachers and watch. It'll be fun to watch Finstock rip into the team when I'm, you know, not on it."

"Finstock loved you," Danny argues, though he knows that the coach was just as hard on Jackson as he was on everyone else.

"Finstock loves _you_," Jackson replied, elbowing his best friend in the shoulder as they sat down.

It doesn't take long at all for Isaac to see Danny and Jackson out of the corner of his eye, and he turns, looking at them, tilting his head to the side, curious about why they're there. He doesn't get much time to think about it, though, because Greenberg bulldozes right into him.

"LAHEY!" Finstock runs over to them. "Pay attention, god, Greenberg just took you out!"

"Right, sorry coach." Isaac refocuses as best he can, though it's shot to hell, and he's glad when the coach calls for a 5 minute water break not too long after.

He forgoes his water bottle and jogs over to the bleachers, removing his helmet and gloves.

"Hey, what…what are you guys doing here?" he asks nervously.

"I'm gonna go talk to Finstock," Jackson says, getting up awkwardly, leaving the two of them.

"Um…" Isaac looks at Danny, biting his lip.

"I needed to see you," Danny says softly. "I talked to Jackson, he…explained…and I knew, about the werewolf thing, not everything, though, and he told me that you…that you've been taking away Maia's pain, that that's what you're doing there. He even told me that you made yourself sick doing it, and I just wanted to, Isaac, I don't even know how to say thank you for that."

"So you're not…you knew?" Isaac looks at him, floored.

"Yes, but that isn't what's important here." Danny looks at him. "We can talk about the whole knowing thing later, but I just needed to see you, Isaac, because you're amazing."

"I-"

"No. Shh." Danny shakes his head. "Don't argue with me, okay? Let me talk. I think you're amazing, and I think you're special, and I think it's awful that you don't see that in yourself. I am going to change that, though, if you'll let me. I'm gonna show you what I see in you, how special you are, because Christ, Isaac, you're…" Danny looks at him, at a loss for words. "I know that the hospital, when I was high as balls wasn't the right time to tell you how I really feel, so I hope you'll hear it now, for what it really is."

Danny reaches out, taking Isaac's hands, standing, looking him in the eyes. He doesn't care who's watching them, and right now, Isaac doesn't give a shit, either.

"I love you, Isaac. I'm _in_ love with you, and I want to be with you." Danny looks at him. "I've had a series of crappy boyfriends, and I'd told myself I was done, that I wasn't going to date anymore in high school, but you? You're a game changer, Isaac Lahey."

"Danny…" Isaac looks at Danny, his jaw dropping, because jesus Christ, Danny's just told him that he loves him. "I…you really want me?"

"Yes." Danny nods. "God, Isaac, just you. No one else."

"Okay." Isaac smiles, biting his lip, not really sure how he should be feeling right now. He's sure that there are a million reasons why he shouldn't be doing this, but he's fallen for Danny. He fell for Danny a long time ago, and it just seems silly to let all of his own insecurities take this moment from him.

Danny knows that he's a werewolf, and he's comfortable with that. He wants Isaac in spite of it. He's willing to put that behind him, behind them, and go with what they have, and Isaac wants that. He wants to be in Danny's arms, he wants to be kissing Danny's lips, and putting on Dragon puppet shows with his sister.

"Okay?" Danny bites his lip, looking at Isaac, a smile in place on his face. "Okay, you'll be with me? Just me? Boyfriends?"

"Yes." Isaac gulps as he agrees to this, because Jesus, he's never been anyone's boyfriend before, and he doesn't really know what to do, or what to say, but he wants Danny, and here Danny is, offering himself up on a silver platter.

"Oh thank god." Danny pulls him in close, kissing him, right there, in front of Finstock and everything.

Isaac's instinct would be to pull away, that a public show like this is a bad idea, but he can't do it. Danny's lips touch his, and it's game over. He closes his eyes, getting completely lost in the kiss, because it's the only place he wants to be right now.

Both boys are completely involved in each other, neither at all aware of their surroundings. Danny feels only Isaac, and Isaac feels only Danny ad they deepen the kiss, hands finding each other, fingers lacing together. It feels good, right, invincible, and they stay lost like that for almost a full minute before a sharp whistle blasts in their ear.

"LAHEY! Back on the field!" Finstock yells. "This is lacrosse practice, not the OC! And Mahealani, if you're well enough to make out with Lahey, why the hell are you not suited up?"

"Sorry, coach," Danny says, though everyone within ear shot can tell from his tone that there's not a sorry bone in his body.

"Lahey, back on the field!" Coach states.

"Yes, sir." Isaac drops Danny's hand, but he's grinning ear to ear.

He jogs back to the field, and Jackson slides back in next to Danny.

"So, I take it that went exactly the way that you wanted it too?" Jackson asks.

"Yeah, pretty much." Danny, like Isaac, isn't anywhere near wiping the grin off of his face. He feels happy – stupidly happy, that Isaac is there, that he exists, that they're together, because he never would have seen himself with someone like that – someone who makes him so unbelievably happy, and yet here they are.

"I'm happy for you, you know," Jackson says, looking over at Danny.

"Yeah, I know you are." Danny smiles. "Thanks, that…that means a lot to me."

He sighs, looking out, watching the practice – watching _Isaac. _Isaac's big, and he's strong, and he's beautiful, but it's his heart that Danny loves the most. The little things that Isaac did, and the big things that Danny didn't even know he was doing, that's what makes the kid amazing, and Danny doesn't get why Isaac doesn't see it. He doesn't understand why Isaac is so hard on himself, but he wants to help. He wants to be there to help Isaac through his own self doubt, whatever caused it. He wants to be there to support Isaac, to love him the way that he deserves to be loved.

"You look like you're a million miles away, Danny, Jesus." Jackson shoves him playfully, and Danny looks at him, smiling.

"I am. Jackson, I'm happy. Right now, I'm so happy. You're back, for not much longer, but you're back, and Maia is doing alright, she's home, and Isaac is in my life. Things are finally, you know…they're calm, they feel right. Balanced."

"I'm glad." Jackson reaches up, putting his hand on Danny's shoulder, patting it gently. "I'm glad things are shaping up for you. I know that it hasn't been an easy year for you, with Ethan, and Maia, and everything, and I'm really glad that you found someone who makes you happy, someone who will take care of you."

"The fact that you actually approve of my boyfriend is astounding to me," Danny admits. "You've hated every single one of the others."

"And they have all been awful," Jackson states. "I think that I've been right to deny every single other guy you've ever brought home."

"Yeah, that's fair." Danny nods, agreeing, then falls into silence.

He watches the practice, focusing on Isaac. Isaac is different. Isaac is special. There's still something that Isaac's not telling him, he knows that, but it's not something like being a werewolf, something that Isaac is afraid for Danny to know. It's something else, something blocking him from seeing how amazing he is, and Danny can't hold self doubt against Isaac.

He's heard whispers about Isaac's past, and talking about that sort of thing, it can't be easy. He isn't going to push it, he'll leave it be, and hopefully, someday, Isaac will feel like he can say what he's really feeling.

Right now, Danny's willing to wait, because Isaac trusts him, he can tell that much, and he's in love. Maybe for the first time, he's actually in love.

**_A/N Alright, sap factory galore! I hope that you guys liked it! I wanted some happy sappy after the slight angst that's been going on!_**


	30. Chapter 30

That night, when they're in bed, Isaac snuggles up close to Danny, nuzzling him. That's not something that he does on a regular basis, the nuzzling. In fact, he hasn't done it before.

"Ha, your hair's tickling me," Danny mutters.

"Oh, shit, sorry." Isaac instantly moves to pull away, but Danny grabs him, pulling him closer.

"Isaac," Danny looks into his eyes. "If you're going to be all adorable and nuzzle me, I really don't mind your hair tickling me."

"Oh." Isaac blushes, looking at Danny, then buries his face in Danny's neck, nuzzling him gently.

This makes Danny incredibly happy, because it's gentle, it's cute, it's sweet, it's kind. As weird as it sounds, he's never been nuzzled by any of his exes, and it's not like Isaac is even the first werewolf that he's dated. There has been no nuzzling in his life.

Lots of sex, very rough sex, sometimes, but nothing as intimate and sweet as the bed sharing he's doing with Isaac right now, and while yes, sex is on his mind, what's on his mind more is the fact that he's in love with someone who is currently snuggling the shit out of him, and it's fucking adorable.

"So you really don't care?" Isaac asks, after lying in Danny's arms for a bit.

The lights are off, they have been for awhile, and Isaac feels that maybe he shouldn't push, that he should let it lie, but at the same time, he feels like they need to have this conversation. He _wants_ to have this conversation, because he wants Danny to be sure. He doesn't want either of them to be in a situation they don't want to be in. He wants Danny to understand.

"I care," Danny says, shifting so that he can look into Isaac's blue eyes, because he doesn't want to have this conversation without Isaac knowing that he's completely seriously. "I care a lot, but I've had a lot of time to get used to it. I've known since…well, I've known for a long time, Isaac and with Ethan…I kept waiting and waiting for him to tell me, but he didn't. He didn't trust me, or he didn't think I could hack it, I don't know which, and I don't care. He didn't feel that what we had was important enough that I know."

Danny stops talking, he reaches out, running his hand down Isaac's cheek, smiling to himself as he does so. He wants Isaac to smell like him. He knows that he can't smell it, and that a lot of others won't be able to, either, but he knows that a few people – Jackson, Ethan, Aiden, Scott – they'll be able to smell it. And maybe it's a little twisted, but he wants them to know that Isaac is off limits, that Isaac is his.

"You wanted me to know who you are, what you were, even though you knew it could jeopardize what we had, and I have so much care and respect for that." Danny smiles. "And yes, for awhile at the beginning, when I first found out, and then again after things with Ethan, I didn't think that I could hack it, dating a werewolf, but the whole time I was falling for you, Isaac, I knew, and that didn't change anything. That doesn't counteract the things about you that I love, and you haven't exhibited violent behavior, at least not in front of me, for a long time…and I'm starting to think that Ethan gave you good reason to beat the shit out of him."

"He…he sort of did, I half lost it." Isaac shifts nervously. "I have a temper, I'm…learning to control. Scott's been helping me a lot, I promise, Danny, I'm not like that anymore. I'm not violent like that. I won't hurt you, I won't hurt anyone you care about. I promise, Danny-"

"Isaac, Isaac." Danny runs his hand down Isaac's back. "Isaac, I believe you, it's okay." Danny smiles gently. "You've shown be how gentle and kind you really are. That's the part of you that I see now."

"Oh." Isaac nods. "Good, I just…I don't want you to think that I'm that person."

"I wouldn't be in love with you if I thought that was who you were," Danny says gently. "Maybe I've had a thing for bad boys in the past, but bad guys? No."

"You…thought I was a bad guy?"

"I thought you were beating the crap out of my boyfriend for no reason," Danny says with a smile.

"Oh." Isaac shakes his head. "No, it's okay. I mean, I get it, I…I've made some bad choices, I just-"

"Isaac," Danny looks at him, shaking his head. "Not right now, okay?"

"What?"

"I know there's still stuff that's unsaid between us, stuff that you haven't said yet because you're not ready, and now that we're together…I don't want to force those things out of you. I don't want you to feel like you have to say them all to me now. You don't." Danny smiles, gently stroking Isaac's cheek as he speaks to him. "I want to be with you for a long time, and if that's going to happen, the sort of things that you haven't said yet, you have to be trusting enough to say them. When you're ready to tell me, you'll tell me. I believe that."

"You do?" Isaac bites his lip, looking at Danny, not sure he believes that just yet.

"Yes." Danny nods. "You've already opened up to me, showed me a part of you that terrified you to show, that-"

"But I didn't tell you. Jackson did."

"Jackson told me because he wanted to be the one to tell me. He pulled you out of my room to keep you from telling me, because you were ready for me to know that about you. I waited, and you trusted me." Danny smiles. "That's all I want."

"Okay." Isaac nods. After all, he's happy right now, so close to Danny, and he doesn't want to dampen that, ruin it, by explaining why he was the way he was, what happened in his past.

Danny leans in, kissing Isaac softly. They've talked enough, they've snuggled, it's getting late, and Danny's still healing. Still, there's something about the way they are, curled up around each other, kissing lazily, slowly, that's just pleasant, and so _them._

They reach a natural stopping point when Danny breaks the kiss to yawn, and Isaac smiles.

"It's bed time, isn't it," he states.

"No!" Danny shakes his head. "I'm not tired!"

"You're lying." Isaac grins. "It's bed time."

"Fine." Danny buries his face in Isaac's neck this time, and Isaac puts his arms around him, hugging Danny close to him.

It's intimate, it's adorable, it's not very "tough" of either of them, but neither care. It's downright adorable snuggling, and Isaac doesn't remember ever being as happy as he is right now. At least not since his mother died. It's all been downhill from there, and now, finally, with Danny in his life, it's starting to look up again.

Eventually, they change position, spooning, with Danny on the inside, at least for now, as they have a tendency to switch during the night. Danny falls asleep almost right away, evidence by the changing in breathing pattern, and the regulation of his heartbeat, a sound which is all too present in Isaac's mind right now.

After a few minutes of lying there, holding Danny close, Isaac slips his hand up Danny's shirt. It's not a sexual overture, it's just a desire, a need, for the skin to skin contact. He doesn't want to just hear Danny's heartbeat, he wants to feel it. He wants to know that Danny is close, that Danny is there.

Danny leans into the touch, muttering something incoherent in his sleep, and Isaac leans down, brushing a light kiss to Danny's clothed shoulder, before closing his own eyes.

It's easy to get lost in Danny. His scent is overpowering, and wonderful. His breathing is regular, calming, and his heartbeat is soothing, relaxing.

Danny's starting to feel like home, and Isaac isn't sure that's such a bad thing after all.

_**A/N Okay...another floofy chapter because...I'mfeelingalittlefloofyokay? I hope that you guys liked it, sorry for the slow update, I've been a little bit distracted, but yeah...I've decided, for those of you reading both of my stories, to try updating them separately, instead of waiting until I have a chapter of both to upload, so that's part of what's the haps! I hope that you enjoy, and that you continue to read! The next chapter, while it might still be floofy, will not be the same filler-y sort of thing. I promise.**_


	31. Chapter 31

Isaac goes to school the next day happy. It's not the kind of happiness he's ever known before. Danny's scent, his feel, is seeping into him, and it just feels good. Danny might still be in bed (though it's his last day of recovery before he's back), but when Isaac leaves the Mahealani house, with a kiss goodbye from his _boyfriend_, he feels good. All the way to school.

And then he gets there, and it's like Ethan has been waiting for him for hours.

And Jesus, Isaac realizes that he doesn't know that much about where the twins live, or anything about them, really. He might have been there waiting.

"I heard about lacrosse practice," Ethan says, standing, walking over to Isaac.

They naturally gravitate away from the influx of students heading to school, so they can talk in private, and Isaac's heart starts going crazy.

Ethan's volatile, he knows that, and his brother even more so. They're only sort of in the pack, so why would they respect boundaries now when they haven't before? It's no secret that Ethan and Isaac haven't exactly gotten along well. In fact, Ethan and Aiden were directly responsible for some of the worst moments Isaac's had since his father died.

Still, what choice does he have? He is with Danny, and he knows that that's sort of a 'fuck you' to Ethan, who couldn't make it work with him. They are in the same pack, and Isaac knows that dating Danny is, yeah, somewhat of a party foul, but he doesn't consider Ethan his friend, and he didn't choose to be in his pack. Scott made that choice, and Isaac respects and understands it, but that doesn't mean he's ready to bro-code about with the people who helped to murder his best friend, even if they didn't have a choice.

Maybe he's holding an irrational grudge against them – for Erica, for Boyd, for locking him in a closet and causing him to almost kill Allison. Regardless, there's just no love between him and Ethan.

"It isn't going to work, you know that, right?" Ethan asks, his hands shoved into his pocket. "It ended between us because he could tell I was keeping something from him, and he doesn't like secrets. What makes you think that won't happen with you."

"Because I'm not keeping secrets from him." Isaac looks at Ethan head on, and Ethan looks shocked.

"What?" He spits.

"He knows. About us – he knew about you at the time, too, Ethan." Isaac controls himself. He doesn't want to fly off the handle – he's happy, and he knows that coming to blows with Ethan isn't going to make Danny happy. At all.

"You told him?" Ethan asks.

"He already knew. Jackson told him, but he already knew, but I…I was going to if Jackson didn't, yeah." Isaac nods. "The things started out for us, it wasn't headed…where it is now, something changed, I couldn't leave him in the dark, because I…"

"Because you love him." Ethan nods, like it's just a fact.

He's not asking, because he doesn't need to. He knows how magnetic Danny is, how easy it is to fall for him, he just didn't think that he would lose him so easily. He'd never been dumped before, and Danny? Danny wasn't the last person he'll ever care about, he knows that, but Danny was special – Danny treated him so well, and now, knowing that Danny knew all along, and treated him like he did, even so, makes him angry. Angry with himself for never saying anything, for letting the relationship crumble over a secret that was already out.

"Ethan, I'm…I'm sorry. I know this isn't…that it's not cool, what I'm doing, what I did, but-"

"But you love him, and you owe me nothing, because I've never been anything but awful to you." Once again, Ethan finishes speaking for Isaac, and once again, it's straight on.

"I mean…" Isaac shrugs, because yeah. They're not at that point yet. Maybe they're having a somewhat civil conversation right now, but they're definitely not at the point where they're having a drink together and sharing secrets.

"It's okay. I get it. Aiden and I…we barged in here and we hurt you guys. A lot. I understand that you and I won't ever be friends, and I understand why you're with him. I just wanted to warn you, but since it's not an issue, I'm just…gonna go."

Isaac doesn't stop him, because he has nothing to say. He watches Ethan walk away, and it's interesting, seeing someone so powerful, so cocky, so cowed by a mistake that he's made.

And as awful as Isaac feels about it, some part of him is triumphant, because he and Ethan come from similar pasts – he doesn't know the details, but he knows that Aiden and Ethan suffered abuse, maybe it was at the hands of their pack, and not father, but it's still abuse. They both got drunk on power and hurt people, but Isaac? He's managed to come back from that, change who he is, and he's proud of that.

It's worth being proud of.

"Hey bro." Scott comes up to him, his arm around Isaac's shoulder. "What was that all about."

"Is this where you pretend that you didn't listen to the whole conversation and detail every word to Stiles?" Isaac asks.

"Pretty much, yeah." Scott nods. "You know I've got your back, right? If it came down to anything…Aiden and Ethan are here because they want to experiment with being the good guys. If that ever stops, they're out."

"Thanks." Isaac smiles gently, because he doesn't want to think about it. He doesn't like Ethan, but he also doesn't want to rub in how he has Danny, and not only that, how he has Scott, and Melissa – people who care about him that don't have to.

He's lucky, and that's something that Isaac hasn't ever really considered himself.

"So," Scott playfully nudges Isaac in the ribs. "You and Danny…"

"Shut up." Isaac blushes.

"It's a good thing! I'm happy for you!" Scott assures him.

"Yeah, it…it is, isn't it." Isaac can't help but smile, because Jesus, this morning, he woke up with a boyfriend – a boyfriend who loves and respects him, and kisses him good morning, even though they both have morning breath.

"Mom said to tell you that you have to come home tonight, though, because now that you're dating, she wants to talk to you about rules."

"What?" Isaac's eyes widen. He hadn't thought about that at all, about how Scott's mom might react to all of this. "She knows?"

"Pretty much." Scott nods. "Everyone knows at this point, I'd say."

"And she wants to talk…about rules?" Isaac looks miserable just at the thought. "Is she disappointed? Did I do something wrong?"

Scott stops, looking right at Isaac.

"You have to stop doing that," he says softly, because Isaac is his brother, and he cares for him greatly. "You can't always assume that you've hurt or upset someone because they want to talk to you. You're not…you're with people who care about you now, Isaac. She wants to talk to you _because_ she loves you. She wants you to be safe, and to be happy."

"Oh." Isaac bites his lip.

"It's gonna be awkward as hell, and she knows that. She wouldn't even bother if she didn't love you like her own kid."

"Really?" Isaac knows that Melissa is special, and that she thinks he's special, for some reason, but he doesn't totally understand why that is.

"Really." He smiles. "Just don't worry about it too much."

"Okay." Isaac nods, though he knows that's not really possible. Melissa feels like the only family he really has – well, her and Scott, and he doesn't want to disappoint her.

"You know that I can hear your heart beating, right?" Scott laughs softly at Isaac. "Look, it's just the sex talk, okay? Nothing to worry about. It's awkward, but she's a nurse, so she has good information. It can't be any more awkward than the talk you just had with Ethan…"

"Fair." Isaac sighs, shaking his head.

He still feels bad for Ethan. Ethan who couldn't bring himself to love Danny the right way, Ethan who couldn't break past the barrier of fear of Danny knowing who he was. Ethan who lost Danny, because now that he has Danny, Isaac can't imagine losing him.

Isaac spends the rest of his day thinking about just how many _conversations_ you suddenly have to have with people once you get into a relationship, and he goes home right after school. Sure, enough, Melissa McCall is sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for him.

"Hello." She smiles at him, and he sets his backpack down, walking over to her.

"Hi, Melissa," he says softly.

"So I hear that you and Danny are an item now."

"Yes, ma'am." He nods.

"Scott warned you about this talk, didn't he," she says with a smile. "Relax, Isaac. I'm not going to tell you not to see him or anything like that. I just want to make sure that you're careful."

"Oh." Isaac nods. "Okay, I just…" he shrugs. "I don't know, I don't know what I was going to say there."

"It's okay. First off, Isaac, I want you to know how happy I am for you. I've met Danny a few times, and he seems like a great guy, and with all of the time you two have been spending together, I can't say that I'm at all surprised about this."

Isaac shifts nervously, but he doesn't say anything, he just listens.

"I also know now that you and Scott deal with adult situations on a regular basis, so if you think you're ready for an adult relationship of sorts, I feel no desire to fault you for that. I do, however, feel that it is imperative that you be safe, and as we don't really know how the whole "werewolf" thing plays in with sex, I want to make sure that you're using these." She produces a box of condoms, passing it over to Isaac.

"Oh my god." His eyes grow wide. "I'm not, we're not…we haven't yet…"

"And that's fine, too," Melissa says, almost too quickly. "I just want to make sure that when, and if, you do, that you're prepared."

"Oh." Isaac nods. "Um, thank you?"

"You're welcome. And also, I don't want you to stay over there as much. If you two are a thing now, that's fine, I understand it, but he can stay here sometimes, too, alright?"

"Oh." Isaac blushes. "That's okay? I mean, for him to stay over here? In…in the room I'm using?"

"In _your_ room," Melissa corrects. "This is your home now, Isaac, and however hard that may be for you to see, believe, it's true. If you want your boyfriend to stay over, that's fine. Just text me if he's going to be here so I don't get no surprises – and please," she makes an imploring face. "No sex if you know I'm home, or will be soon. I may be aware that my boys are growing up, but I don't need a visual, or a soundtrack."

"Yes, ma'am." Isaac nods.

"And for the love of god, stop calling me ma'am."

"Oh, right." Isaac blushes, smiling. "Sorry about that."

"No problem." Melissa grins at him. "You're free to go, Isaac."

"I…can I ask you something, actually?" Isaac asks.

"Of course." She nods.

"He said that he loves me, and I…how do I know if that's true?" he asks.

"Isaac," she looks at him, one eyebrow raised. "You're a werewolf. You're like a living, breathing lie detector."

"Oh. Right. Thanks."

Isaac gets up and goes to his room, flopping down on the bed, because that was the moment that he realized that he _knows_ Danny is being honest with him, and his own self doubt is so crippling that it's overpowering what he _knows_ to be true, and he doesn't want that. He has to figure this out, because if he doesn't, he's going to destroy what he has from the inside out, and for the first time since his mother died, he has people in his life that he can't afford to lose.

_**A/N Alright, so that's how I'm handling the Ethan of it all, and I hope that that is alright - I know that some people wanted to see that, and I honestly did want to write it. I think how he feels is important, because he is in the pack, and he is going to be seeing Isaac have what he failed to have himself, despite how much he tried. I also really like the relationship between Isaac and Melissa, so I played to that again. :) I hope that it's alright. OH! And I've been getting asked if I'm ending this story soon and if I plan on touching on Isaac and Danny talking about Isaac's rough past - I would say that there is less of the story to come than has been written, but I still have some things that I want to have happen, and Isaac and Danny talking about Isaac's past is definitely one of them. I hope that you are all having a great day! Thanks for reading this ridiculously long AN...and ridiculously long story.**_


	32. Chapter 32

"What do you wanna do tomorrow night?" Danny asks, looking over at Isaac as they do homework together.

It's about a week after they've started going out officially, and things are going great, at least as far as they're both concerned.

"Tomorrow night?" Isaac looks confused. "What's tomorrow night?"

"Friday night," Danny says. "Date night."

"Oh." Isaac blushes, looking back down at his homework. "I didn't…I don't know, I mean, I've…I didn't think about that." He shrugs, not making eye contact with Danny.

"Isaac?" Danny asks slowly.

"Yeah?" Isaac looks up, trying his best to be anything other than an embarrassing shade of bright red.

"Have you ever been on a date before?"

"Um…" Isaac shifts nervously, then shakes his head. "Not…not exactly, I mean, not at all."

"Okay." Danny smiles. "Well I'll plan something amazing and pick you up at maybe 8?"

"Yeah." Isaac grins. "That sounds good. Um, can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure." Danny nods.

"Can you sleep over here on Friday, maybe? Melissa said that she wants me here more, but…she doesn't mind at all if you're here too?"

"Oh. Of course." Danny smiles. "Sorry I never offered that. Jesus, we're always at my place. Yeah." He nods. "We can definitely be over here. I should get going, though, Jackson's leaving soon so I have to log some face time with the best friend. I'll see you at school, though, and I'll have something great for tomorrow."

"You don't have to, Danny, I'm fine with-"

"Isaac, it's your first date," Danny says with a small smile. "I'm not letting it be a bust." He packs up his things, and leans in, kissing Isaac on the lips before heading out.

Isaac looks down at his homework, smiling as he thinks about tomorrow night…until he realizes that he doesn't know the first thing about dating.

"I don't know what to do," Isaac states loudly as he bursts into Scott's room.

"Whoa, what?" Scott frowns.

"I don't know what to do. I'm supposed to go on a date with Danny tomorrow night, and I've never been on a date before, and he said he wants to do something special, and I don't know what to say, what to do, what to wear, what to-"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down." Scott smiles. "Look, usually first dates are hard because you're trying to figure out if someone likes you or not. Danny already likes you – he already loves you. The most you have to worry about is who's gonna be on top tomorrow night," Scott teases.

"Shut up. You're the worst." Isaac sighs. "But you really think it'll be okay?"

"Yes." Scott nods. "Wear those jeans Lydia bought you, a nice, but casual button down, and you'll be fine."

"Okay." Isaac nods. "Thank you, Scott."

"Of course. Now get out. I have a paper to write."

"Oh, right, yes." He nods, leaving the room, biting back a smile as he goes back to his own homework, anticipating tomorrow night.

Danny picks Isaac up right at 8, and not only that, he goes right to the door, rings the doorbell, smiling as Isaac opens the door.

Isaac's wearing exactly what Scott suggested, and Danny? He's looking drop dead gorgeous in dark jeans and a t-shirt that fits him perfectly.

"This is for you." Danny holds out a single red rose, and Isaac looks at him, shocked.

"You…you got me a rose?"

"I know it's cheesy, but you said that you'd never been on a date before, and I just want you to, you know…have some of the cheesy stuff that goes with it."

"Thank you." Isaac smiles. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna go put this in something."

He disappears to the kitchen, putting the flower in a tall water glass, scribbling a note that says it's his, and not to touch it, before going back to the hallway.

"Hi."

"Hi." Danny smiles, reaching out, taking Isaac's hand. "You look really nice."

"Thanks, you look…I mean…" Isaac gestured at Danny. "Really good."

"Thanks." Danny tugs Isaac's hand, pulling him out the door and into the car.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Isaac likes the sexy smirk Danny's wearing as he drives, and he wonders just how he got here, in the car next to Danny Mahealani, going on an actual date.

The car ride takes awhile, and when Danny pulls up in front of the mini golf place, Isaac grins.

"I could have gone all out, with the fancy restaurant, but this seemed more…our speed," Danny says, getting out, opening the door for Isaac. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, it's perfect." Isaac smiles, following Danny. They get clubs and balls, and start out on the course.

Of course, because of his werewolf abilities, Isaac is perfect. He gets a hole in one every time, but instead of getting frustrated by losing, Danny cheers, whooping louder and louder every time.

"You're amazing," he states on the sixth hole.

"No, I'm just…I mean, you know."

"No, I mean that's helping, but you're…" he bites his lip, grabbing Isaac's arm, pulling him around, kissing him, right there in the open.

Sure, they're far from Beacon Hills, and it's not exactly busy at the mini golf course, and it's far from the most public thing they've done, after the lacrosse thing, but it makes Isaac feel good, like Danny's not ashamed of him. At all.

By the end of the course, Isaac has completely crushed Danny, but they're laughing about it, and Danny laces his fingers through Isaac's, leading him to the café on the course property. They tuck themselves into a booth in the back, sitting on the same side. They order burgers, split an order of fries, and it's only sort of an accident when Danny accidentally gets some ketchup on Isaac's cheek.

He reaches up, running his thumb over Isaac's skin to remove the ketchup, sucking it off, smirking at Isaac as he does so.

"What?" Isaac asks.

"You just look like you're having a good time."

"I am." Isaac smiles at Danny, taking a fry and eating it. "This has been a really great first date."

"To the first of many." Danny lifts his water glass, and Isaac does the same.

When they drive back to Beacon Hills, they don't go home, not right away. Danny drives them to a bluff overlooking the town. It's peaceful, secluded, and they can be alone there. They sit on the hood of Danny's car, cuddled together.

"It's a beautiful night," Isaac says awkwardly, looking up at the stars, then over at Danny, who turns, smiling at him.

"Yeah, it is."

Danny leans down, capturing Isaac's lips in a deep kiss, and Isaac forgets all about the view, and the stars, and where they are, because all there is right now is Danny. Danny's lips on his, Danny's hands sliding up his shirt, gently caressing his skin, Danny's legs tangling against his as the kiss deepens…Danny's body falling on top of his as they lose their stability and fall off the car.

"Oh, shit, jesus!" Danny laughs, looking down at Isaac. "Did I hurt you?"

Isaac just smiles and grabs a fist full of Danny's shirt, pulling him back down into the kiss. It doesn't matter that his expensive jeans are getting grass stained, and dirty, or that his button down no longer looks perfect.

Danny reaches up, pulls the buttons apart, exposing Isaac's skin. He smiles, leaning down, kissing Isaac's chest. Isaac instantly gasps, the feeling of Danny's lips on his torso driving him a little crazy, but he doesn't stop him – god, never. He closes his eyes, enjoying the sensation, the feeling – the way _Danny_ makes him feel.

He's pulled from his bliss, however, when Danny's hands go to his belt, starting to und o it. Isaac tenses, and Danny looks up.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I mean, it's just…I've never…" he bites his lip, looking at Danny nervously.

"Had sex?" Danny asks.

"Or had anyone…touch me."

"Oh." Danny's eyes widen. "Shit, Jesus, Isaac, I'm sorry. I'll stop, I didn't know."

"It's okay, no, you don't have to stop, I just…" Isaac shrugs. "I don't want you to be disappointed."

"Isaac," Danny looks at him, an adorable smile in place on his face. "I was gonna give you a blow job. Literally all that you have to do is lie there, and enjoy it. There's no disappointment on the table."

"Okay." Isaac's heart races as Danny lowers himself down again. "Wait," he says a second later, and Danny's head pops right back up.

"You okay?" Danny asks.

"Yeah, I…just, if you give me one, then I'm supposed to give you one, and what if I'm bad?" He asks.

"Hey." Danny looks right at him. "I am not expecting anything in return, okay? If you decide you want to, that's fine, but honestly, I just want to make you feel good, Isaac. I know what I'm doing, and I know that you don't, and I just want this night to be amazing for you. Relax, take a deep breath – I don't want anything from you, okay?"

"I love you." Isaac smiles at him, and Danny disappears again, pulling down Isaac's jeans and boxers.

When it's over, Isaac can't fucking move.

"Are you okay?" Danny asks, moving to lie down next to him.

"I…I'm…that was…"

"I'm good. I know." Danny smirks. He has no doubts about his skill, and Isaac's cries as he came definitely didn't hurt.

"Yeah." Isaac nods, snuggling against Danny. "Being with you, it's not like anything I've ever had, the fact that you chose me…"

"Hell yeah, I chose you." Danny smiles. "You're kind, and you're caring, and you're sexy…"

"I'm not."

"You are," he says softly, reaching up, raking his fingers through Isaac's hair.

"You're telling the truth," Isaac says, looking at him.

"Yeah." Danny nods. "I am." He stood up, reaching a hand down to Isaac. "Let's go back to your place, curl up in bed, and talk until we fall asleep."

"Okay." Isaac smiles, going back with Danny. They say a quick goodnight to Melissa, to Scott, before going, changing into pajamas, and curling up in Isaac's bed.

"I really do love you," Danny says softly, pulling Isaac close to him. "I know that you have trouble doubting that, and I know you're gonna tell me about it, but until we get you believing it…" Danny shifts, gently guiding Isaac's head to his chest, his ear right above Danny's heart. "I'll say it again and again and let you listen to my heart beat as I do so that you'll know that what I'm saying is true. I love you, Isaac Lahey."

"Yeah." Isaac smiles, listening to the heartbeat as Danny talks, telling the truth. "I love you too, Danny."

"Good." Danny holds him close. "Now get some sleep."

"I will." He smiles. "Can I stay here?" he asks. "I like your heart beat. It feels safe."

"Yeah." Danny smiles, running his fingers through Isaac's curls as he closes his eyes, falling asleep, Isaac's head resting on his chest.

Isaac falls asleep to the sound of Danny's heartbeat, soft, slow, and loving.

**_A/N Alright, floofy date chapter after awkward sex talk chapter. Hope it's alright. Kind of sleepy, so I hope this chapter makes sense! Next chapter is gonna have some durrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaa._**


	33. Chapter 33

**_A/N Alright, so first off - the drama that I promised is actually in the NEXT chapter, so I'm sorry about that! I hope you still enjoy this one!_**

"Danny, wake up." Isaac shakes Danny, trying to rouse him from sleep.

It's Sunday night, so they went to bed early, but now, around 11:30, Isaac's wide awake.

"What is it?" Danny mumbles, pulling away from Isaac.

"Maia's crying," Isaac whispers.

Danny's awake instantly, sitting up, and reaching for the light.

"I don't hear anything," he says, shielding his eyes from the brightness as the light switches on.

"It's quiet," Isaac replies. "Werewolf, remember?" he gestures to himself.

"Oh, god, right, okay." Danny moves to get out of the bed. "Don't wait up for me, okay?"

"I'll keep the bed warm," Isaac promises, just hoping that Maia is okay. The only reason he doesn't ask to come with is that he knows he can hear the conversation from down the hall. He just needs to know that Maia is okay.

Danny gets down the hall pretty quickly, and into Maia's room, where sure enough, she's curled up on the bed, crying softly.

"Hey, Maia…" Danny eases down on the side of the bed, putting his hand on her back, rubbing gently. "Maia, what's wrong?"

"I had…a dream…" she sniffles, looking up at Danny. "It didn't work, and I had to go back to the hospital, and I was gonna die there. Danny, I'm scared."

"It's working, Maia," Danny reassures softly. "Every appointment you have, they tell you it's all going fine, okay? It's all gonna be just fine."

"I'm just scared." She moves, crawling into Danny's lap, and burying her face in his chest. "I don't want to be in hospitals anymore."

"I know you don't," he assures her. "I don't want you to be in hospitals anymore, either."

It's true. Danny would put himself in harm's way before letting anything happen to Maia, but this? The cancer, that wasn't a choice. There was nothing that he could have done to fight that, to prevent it, to combat it. He could just sit by and watch as her own body destroyed, doing what little he could in the bone marrow donation.

It was working, though. Her body wasn't rejecting anything, and Isaac had sworn to keep a look out for any scents that were indicative of anything going south. He'd come up with nothing, so far, thank god.

"Why didn't you wake any one up when you had the dream?" Danny asks softly.

"I didn't…I mean, at the hospital there wasn't anyone…"

Maia trails off, and Danny's heart completely breaks. Maia had woken up crying at night in the hospital, and no one had been there. _He _hadn't been there.

"Well I'm here now, okay?" He pulls her close, kissing the top of her head.

"Can I come sleep in your bed?" Maia asks softly.

It's not the first time she's made this request – sometimes she goes to their parents, but sometimes she crawls in with Danny, and he's just as good at protecting her from the monsters under her bed as their mom and dad are.

"Yeah, of course you can, sweet girl." Danny smiles, lifting her up.

He knows that Isaac is in his bed, but something tells me that is going to make Maia happier, not bother her, and Isaac? Well, Danny's pretty sure that he's listening to the conversation, and that if he has a problem with that, he can parkour right out the window and not have to deal with it.

Danny carries Maia into the room and turns the light on, just so that they can get settled.

"Hey." Isaac's sitting up, his eyes tired, one of Danny's old lacrosse camp t-shirts hanging off of his body.

Danny smiles – he likes the way Isaac looks in his clothes, but he doesn't say anything, because he doesn't get the chance.

"Isaac!" Maia grins, because of course she didn't know he was there. How would she have? They haven't really gotten to that conversation yet, though Danny suspects they're about to have it.

"Hey, Maia." Isaac smiles, and opens his arms to the hug she offers as Danny sets her down on the bed.

"Why are you in Danny's bed? Are you and Danny dating?" She asks.

"I think you should ask your brother that question," Isaac says softly, his voice heavy with sleep.

"Come here, Mai," Danny says, pulling the blankets around him as he lies down. Isaac reaches over for the light and turns it off, situating himself so that Maia is tucked safely between the two of them, safe from any harm, real or imaginary.

"Are you and Isaac boyfriends?" Maia asks.

"Yeah, kiddo," Danny says with a smile that Maia can barely see through the dark. "We are."

"Do you love him?" Maia asks.

"I do." Danny nods.

"Good." Maia yawns as she cuddles up between the two of them.

That's all that she says before she's fast asleep, and Isaac just looks over at Danny through the sliver of moonlight lighting the room.

"Oh come on," Danny grins. "She was always going to approve of you."

"It's nice to hear it," Isaac says softly.

"Get some sleep, babe."

"Okay." Isaac lays his head down, and Danny's back asleep within seconds, but Isaac lays awake a little, because there's just something both unfamiliar and comforting about this setup – with Danny and Maia, together, and him. He focuses on two heart beats, two people that he cares about, and closes his eyes, smiling to himself.

It feels like he belongs here.

When he wakes up, Maia is practically on top of him, and Danny has an arm wrapped lightly, but protectively, around the both of them. Isaac smiles, but doesn't move, because he doesn't want to wake either of them. Instead, he just lies there, waiting for them to wake up on their own.

He likes how this is, two people steadily, softly breathing next to him – one person so small, so brave, so strong, that her just being there almost seems like a miracle, and another, courageous, and loving, that he wouldn't be able to believe actually cared and loved for _him_…except he can hear it.

Every time Danny says it, Isaac can hear the truth in his heart beat, and nothing has ever felt more right to him than this does, than Danny and Maia do, curled up with him.

"Hey." Danny opens his eyes, smiling as he sees that Isaac is awake.

"Hey yourself," Isaac says softly.

"How long have you been awake?" Danny asks, making sure to whisper for the same reason Isaac did – neither of them wants to wake Maia.

"Maybe 10 minutes." Isaac shrugs.

"You could move her, you know," Danny smiles.

"No I can't. She had a late night."

"I love you." Danny bites his lip, looking at Isaac in a way that's almost shy – which, if anyone knows anything about Danny Mahealani it's that he's nowhere near shy. Never has been, not a day in his life. Isaac loves that about him.

"Thank you," Isaac returns.

"You know." Danny shifts, but only ever so slightly. "You've gotta stop saying thank you when I tell you that I love you, and start saying 'I love you, too,' or I'm gonna drive myself crazy wondering if you do."

"Oh." Isaac bites his lip, smiling. "Well I do."

"Do what? – and if you say 'remind me of the babe,' I'm gonna kill you."

"I love you, too," Isaac said with a quiet laugh.

"Good." Danny smiles, and reaches out, taking Isaac's hand and squeezing it.

Nothing matters more to Danny than his family, so finding a boy who's going to care about Danny's family is really important – let alone someone as overall kind, and gorgeous as Isaac. Maybe he's got some baggage, and maybe some of that baggage is that he's a werewolf, but now that Danny sees how that can actually be an advantage, he's more comfortable with it.

And then there's the fact that it's Isaac. It honestly doesn't matter if he's a werewolf, because Danny is head over heels in love with someone for the first time, he thinks – everything else before hasn't felt like this, and he doesn't even know what to say to that. Isaac is clearly the uncomfortable one, who feels like he's reaching, and as much as high school social classes may have told them both that that's true, Danny knows that Isaac isn't the only who feels lucky.

He smiles, gently moving to bring Isaac's hand to his lips before he looks at him.

"I'm happy," Danny says gently.

"Yeah." Isaac flashes him a lazy, morning smile. "I am, too."

And it almost shocks Isaac right out of the bed because of how true it is.

**_A/N Alright - needed a little Maia in there, and I figured she'd be damn happy that Isaac and Danny were dating, I mean, she's a kid and she loves them both, so yeah, there's that! I hope you liked this, and I hope to update soon, but I'm so beat, so I'm not sure when it's gonna be just, that it IS gonna be. Also...everyone should go listen to the song Sight of the Sun by Fun. in relation to this story. :) ALSO I JUST REALIZED THAT THIS PUSHES ME PAST THE 50K MARK! IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE PASSED THE 50K MARK!_**


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